The Enbridge oil pipeline company is dealing with another case of bad publicity after a spill in Wisconsin.
1,200 barrels of oil have leaked near Grand Marsh, just north of Madison. The pipeline is part of the Lakehead system, which transports light crude to refineries in the Chicago area.
The company says the oil has been contained in a field. The cause of the leak is unknown and officials don’t know when the line will be restarted.
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Enbridge is currently trying to win approval to build the Northern Gateway Pipeline, which would carry oil from northern Alberta to Kitimat, B.C.
This subject has heated up tensions between the two provinces, and it became a major talking point at the premiers meeting this week in Halifax.
B.C. premier Christy Clark wants greater economic benefits from the project and until the issue is resolved she’s refusing to agree on a National Energy Strategy, which was being promoted by Alberta premier Alison Redford at the conference.
This latest Enbridge leak comes almost two years to the day after another major spill on a different part of the same line.
20,000 barrels of heavy crude were spilt into a tributary of the Kalamazoo river in Michigan.
During that spill the company was criticized for failing to shut down the line, until 18 hours after the leak began.
Enbridge was fined three-point-seven million dollars – its largest penalty yet.
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