ENVIRONMENT — OIL COMPANY, LAW ENFORCEMENT BLOCK MEDIA ACCESS TO PUBLIC SITES HIT BY MICHIGAN OIL SPILL: Last week, a disastrous leak in one of the world’s largest pipeline systems gushed over 1 million gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River, located in southwest Michigan. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) declared the area a disaster zone, quickly activating the State Emergency Operations Center to ensure all state resources are devoted to oil spill response. The spill has “coated scores of birds and fish in oil” and “led about two dozen people to seek relocation.” The Calhoun County Health Department even advised local residents to evacuate due to “higher than acceptable levels of benzene,” a “highly flammable” organic chemical that can lead to serious health risks. The Michigan Messenger reported Sunday that officials from the pipeline company, Enbridge Inc., and law enforcement are blocking the media from public spill sites. The Messenger reported that its journalists were denied access — again — “to a key oil spill site after attempting to record video of the Kalamazoo River.” An Enbridge security office said “no media was allowed” and rebuffed attempts by a citizen video crew to record the effects of the spill. This is the second time since the pipeline burst “that [the] Messenger has been refused entry to public right of ways to monitor the ongoing clean up operations.” The ACLU of Michigan is currently drafting a letter to express concern about media access issues. Despite a history of oil leaks in Michigan, Enbridge declared last week that “no fresh oil is leaking from the leak site itself,” and Enbridge would reopen the leaking oil pipeline “in a matter of days.” However, “the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has issued a Corrective Action Order directing the company not to reopen the pipeline until a comprehensive safety assessment can be completed.”