WAUSAU, Wis., Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A waste-management service in Wisconsin said more than 17,000 tons of contaminated soil had been removed from the site of a late July oil spill.
Line 14, part of the Lakehead oil pipeline system operated by Enbridge, ruptured in late July, releasing around 1,200 barrels of oil near Grand Marsh, Wis.
Steve Bubert, a manager for waste-management company Veolia Environmental Services, told regional broadcaster WAOW that cleanup operations were nearly complete with 17,000 tons of contaminated soil removed.
Bubert said the company treats the contaminated soil with microbes capable of digesting hydrocarbons.
"I think this is a large spill and they're moving along as fast as they can," added Tom Hvizdak, a hydrogeologist working for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Line 14 has a capacity of 317,600 barrels of oil per day. The leak occurred one day and two years after a spill on the same pipeline network in Michigan, which was the costliest onshore oil spill in U.S. history.
Enbridge early this month returned Line 14 to service after federal regulators approved a restart plan for the 467-mile pipeline.
