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Malfunction causes Michigan oil leak

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Published: July 27, 2010 at 8:02 AM

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., July 27 (UPI) -- Thousands of gallons of crude oil have flowed into a creek leading to the Kalamazoo River in western Michigan, officials of a pipeline company say.

Tom Fridel, general manager of Enbridge Liquids Pipelines in Chicago, said the leak resulted from a malfunction in an underground pipeline, the Battle Creek (Mich.) Enquirer reported Tuesday.

Pipeline pumps were shut down once the leak was detected but not before some 800,000 of gallons of oil spilled.

Calhoun County Sheriff Al Byam said the timing of the spill is especially bad because recent storms have widened the river and caused it to carry the oil more quickly.

Crews worked all day Monday to plug the leak and then turned their attention to cleaning up the oil, WWMT-TV, Kalamazoo, Mich., reported.

Calhoun County Emergency Management said there was no immediate threat to drinking water but it was too soon to determine the spill's impact on wildlife.

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