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"The agreement will finalize cleanup and
restoration requirements for areas affected by the spill," that
stemmed from an Enbridge owned and operated pipeline, Michigan
Attorney General Bill Schuette and Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant said in a statement.
Wyant added that key provisions in the settlement include
projects aimed at restoring the river's corridor to improve
water quality and reestablish habitats.
The July 2010 spill affected 38 miles of Kalamazoo River as well
as 4,435 acres (1,795 hectares)of nearby shoreline, officials
said.
Under the agreement, filed on Tuesday with a judge in Calhoun
County Circuit Court, Enbridge must finish cleaning up any
remaining oil within about five years and pay the state's costs
in overseeing clean-up and restoration projects, Michigan
officials said.
Representatives for Enbridge, Canada's largest pipeline company,
could not be immediately reached for comment.
Last month, it announced the start up of its $1.6 billion
project to expand the affected line, known as Line 6B, to
increase the capacity of Canadian crude that it can ship to
refineries in Michigan and other areas. The line has been below
capacity since the 2010 spill, then the largest on-shore oil
spill in U.S. history.
Its settlement comes after the United States and Canada recently
announced separate reforms to improve the safety of crude oil
shipments aimed at reducing oil train crashes.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey Editing by W Simon)
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