INDIAN RIVER, Mich. — More than 200 participants from the U.S. Coast Guard 9th District, Enbridge, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency, and others, will take part in an exercise on Wednesday that simulates a ‘worst-case scenario’ oil spill.
According to a press release from the Coast Guard, the exercise will focus on how to respond to a breach in Enbridge’s Line 5, and a discharge of light crude oil.
Enbridge, of course, is the energy company that experienced a massive oil spill in the Kalamazoo River system. Over a million gallons of oil/tar sands spilled into the environment in July of 2010.
Participating agencies in Wednesday’s exercise in Indian River, Michigan, spent 18 months planning everything out. They will test booming strategies to validate existing oil spill response plans. The exercise is part of regularly scheduled planning efforts between the Coast Guard and the industry, as directed by the National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program Guidelines
