Battle Creek area residents are being warned to stay away from the Kalamazoo River because of a major oil spill.
An estimated 840,000 gallons of oil leaked into a creek Monday that feeds into the river.
Area media were reporting that odor from the spill hung heavy over Battle Creek this morning.
"It is unknown at this time how far the spill has traveled and exactly what areas have been affected. It is assumed due to the current level of the Kalamazoo River and the speed of the current that the entire Emmett Township area and beyond has been affected," according to an advisory issued today by the Emmett Township Public Safety Department.
Calls to Chicago-based Enbridge Liquids Pipelines were not immediately returned today. A message on a company hotline set up for the spill said "we regret any inconvenience this has caused to the community."
Regret any inconvenience? I'll bet you will after the lawyers get done with you. The Calhoun County Health Dept. is starting to mutter phrases like "largest in Michigan history" and "lasting consequences for underground water contamination" and "very toxic environment", and the Freep is reporting that volunteers are being asked to help rescue wildlife... apparently it's like having a little piece of the BP Gulf spill right here at home.
Heartsick over this already, and I haven't even begun to read everything yet.
Congressman Schauer will be holding a press conference on the spill shortly, and Senator Levin has promised federal resources for clean-up and called for the company to pay for all damages.
Stay tuned as more details develop...
UPDATE: Some video from WWMT in K-zoo: