Cheboygan County — Clean-up continues this week after oil was released into a Northern Michigan wetland, as state officials continue to investigate what caused it.
Contractors have placed absorbent booms at the site and vac trucks are collecting oil and impacted soil in a remote, heavily wooded area, more than a mile south of the Black River at Pigeon River Country State Forest in Cheboygan County.
Josef Greenberg, the public information officer for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said at least 50 barrels of crude oil and brine were released by a leak in a pipeline owned by Kalkaska based Lambda Energy Resources.
The leak was first noticed last Wednesday. The company immediately stopped production and reported the incident.
“What the crews have been able to accomplish in this short period of time is nothing less than impressive. They’ve built roads, they’re going in with heavy machinery and trucks and no stopping it and immediately mitigating and working on a remedial plan. We’ve got a really great team of people out there who are very concerned about bringing this back to its previous condition,” said Greenberg.
EGLE is still investigating the cause of the oil release and says Lambda Energy Resources has been cooperative.
So far, no fish or wildlife has been impacted. It’s not known how long the clean-up will take.
