More than 69K gallons of oil spilled from pipeline in Jefferson County

The Center Square) – Enbridge now believes that it spilled more than 69,000 gallons of crude oil in Oakland, located in Jefferson County east of Cambridge.

The spill came from Enbridge Energy’s Line 6 from a failed gasket flange and was initially reported as a two-gallon spill on Nov. 11, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The spill estimate had gone from 2 gallons to 126 gallons on Nov. 14 but, based on a field investigation along with observations and data, the number was revised to 69,300 gallons on Dec. 13.

“Under Wisconsin law, entities that cause environmental contamination are responsible for reporting and remediating the contamination,” the Wisconsin DNR said in a statement. “Enbridge is providing weekly updates to the DNR regarding the investigation and cleanup progress.”

A DNR report on the spill says that the gasket was repaired on Nov. 12, saying that 2,000 tons of soil has been excavated and 8,000 gallons of oily water was collected.