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Emergency crews are on the scene after a truck crashed into a house. It happened just before 5:30 p.m. near the intersection of Jolly and Cedar Roads in Lansing. A white truck slid into the front ofget more >> Police shut down eastbound lanes of traffic while they work on the situationget more >> Imagine living next to a fire station. You might feel pretty secure if something were to happen to you or your home. But what if, when your house caught fire, the firefighters next door didn't respondget more >> Manager says residents rejected millage that would keep firefighters closerget more >> A Lansing man is behind bars today after police say he led them on a short chase in a stolen car on Tuesday. An officer spotted the car on Pleasant Grove Road near Boston Boulevard just before noon. Whenget more >> Suspect behind bars on $10,000 bondget more >> Officials got the call just before 7 P.M. Tuesday night to the Mason State Bank on Cedar Street in Mason, where they say a bank robbery took place. It was reported that the male suspect came in justget more >> A male suspect came into a bank in Mason just before closing with a handgun and demanded money from an employee.get more >> A supreme court ruling may pave the way for changing Michigan law for medical marijuana card holders, caught driving under the influence.get more >> A supreme court ruling may pave the way for changing Michigan law for medical marijuana card holders, caught driving under the influence. Tuesday the state's highest court ruled that police must proveget more >> LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Officials say 32 new charter schools plan to open this fall in Michigan. The Detroit News and The Flint Journal report many of the schools will be in urban areas where charter schoolsget more >> Officials say 32 new charter schools plan to open this fall in Michigan.get more >> LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) - When you take your pet to the vet, you expect a healthy and safe return, but for a Lansing family, the visit ended in heart break when they found their dog dead on the side of theget more >> Mireles took his family dog to Comprehensive Animal Hospital for surgery with Dr. Agbonaget more >> Authorities say a 37-year-old man is dead after being hit by a pickup truck while stopped along the side of a mid-Michigan roadway to check on another motorist.get more >> Authorities say a 37-year-old man is dead after being hit by a pickup truck while stopped along the side of a mid-Michigan roadway to check on another motorist.get more >> JACKSON, Mich. (WLNS) - The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is looking for information on a man they say stole several firearms and silencers. It happened on May 8 at the Schupback'sget more >> They say after the store closed, a man came out of hiding and stole several firearms and silencersget more >> Authorities say a bone found last week in West Michigan has been confirmed to be part of an adult human skull.get more >> Authorities say a bone found last week in West Michigan has been confirmed to be part of an adult human skull.get more >>
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – More than two years after the massive Enbridge oil spill that leaked more than a million gallons of toxic tar sands oil into the Talmadge Creek and Kalamazoo River near Marshall, Michigan, experts say submerged oil still remains near the Ceresco Dam.
Stephen Hamilton, Michigan State University professor and president of the Kalamazoo River and Watershed Council, has been doing research on the spill since it happened in 2010. "There is still some submerged oil left in the river, and there may be some places that require some additional work," says Hamilton.
He says because the Ceresco Dam is one of those hotspots with submerged oil because it's an area where the water in the river slows down.
"[The oil] becomes visible when it's agitated. It's not like a layer or pool of oil like you might imagine. You can see it when it comes to the surface as a sheen," he says.
According to Hamilton, the most toxic properties of the oil are gone, so there are no major health concerns with the oil that remains. "The oil changes over time. It tends to actually lose its most toxic components, which evaporate off to the atmosphere over time," he says.
However, cleaning up the leftover oil is a challenge that could harm the environment even more. Hamilton says collecting the sheen is one way to get rid of the remaining oil. Another way is to remove the sediment, but that could be destructive to the ecosystem and wildlife that live in and near the river.
Enbridge officials said in September that the Kalamazoo River cleanup is mostly complete, and that they'll be monitoring the sheen from the oil in the water. Enbridge spokesman Jason Manshum said in a statement: "Enbridge has taken full responsibility for the accident since the beginning, pledging that we would address the impacts of the release on the natural environment and would address the financial and other needs of individuals and businesses in the community.
Emerald Morrow is a reporter with WLNS-TV. Reach out to her on Facebook, Twitter or email at emorrow@wlns.com.
