2010-07-30 [Source: processingmagazine]

More than 1 million gallons of oil may have spilled into a major river in southern Michigan after a 30-inch pipeline in Marshall burst Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency now estimates.

The EPA released the update Wednesday evening shortly after Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm criticized efforts to contain oil flowing into Talmadge Creek, which runs into the Kalamazoo River. Granholm warned of a "tragedy of historic proportions" if the oil reaches Lake Michigan, which is at least 80 miles downstream from where oil has been spotted, the Associated Press reports.

The EPA said it requested the Coast Guard make $2 million available to fund the federal government's operations in response to the spill and the EPA will move additional vessels into the area within days to assist in the response. The leak in the 30-inch pipeline, which was built in 1969 and carries about 8 million gallons of oil daily from Griffith, Indiana to Sarnia, Ontario, happened near Enbridge's Marshall, Mich., pump station. The cause of the spill is under investigation, the AP reports.