CALGARY – Canadian gas company Enbridge Inc. says it has reached a US$62 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice for two pipeline spills in 2010.
Enbridge said Wednesday that of that amount, US$61 million is for a pipeline rupture in Michigan that sent more than three million litres of crude into the Kalamazoo River and a tributary creek, resulting in one of the costliest onshore oil spills in U.S. history.
Enbridge had estimated cleanup costs to be about US$1.2 billion.
Another US$1 million in penalties is for a pipeline rupture two months later in Illinois that sent oil into tributaries of the Des Plaines River.
Enbridge says the settlement also includes a commitment to spend US$110 million to improve equipment, training and overall response abilities on its pipeline system.
