Enbridge offers to buy homes near oil spill
Enbridge Inc. is offering to buy up to 200 homes along the Kalamazoo River in Michigan where an estimated 3.1 million litres of oil spilled from a leak in one of its pipelines.
It is also willing to buy other homes along the 50-kilometre stretch of river at their appraised values before the spill if the owners wish to sell.
Daniel said the idea came from Calhoun County residents who expressed concerns at a public meeting Monday night that their homes were losing value since the oil flowed into the river.
The oil flow, which was reported on July 26, has been stopped and government officials say it's being contained by booms placed along the river and pumped into tankers.
Daniel said the company believes the homes have retained their value and if necessary it would hold on to them and resell them later. He said the offer, which stands for at least a year, should drive off speculators.
"We're comfortable in being able to handle it, even if they're all taken up," Daniel said. "We're prepared to provide a guarantee to ensure nobody takes advantage of them."
During a conference call Tuesday, an Enbridge executive said about two million litres of oil, or two-thirds of the amount that was spilled, has been recovered so far, Bloomberg reported.
The mixture of oil and water pumped from the river is being shipped to a plant in Indiana where the oil is separated.
With files from The Associated Press