By Edward Welsch Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES CALGARY -(Dow Jones)- U.S. regulators approved a "gradual restart plan" Wednesday for pipeline company Enbridge Inc.'s (ENB) downed pipeline near Marshall, Mich., that leaked into the Kalamazoo River in July. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration didn't immediately say when the pipeline would be restarted. Enbridge spokeswoman Terri Larson said Enbridge still needs to get a further written approval to restart the line from PHMSA after the company sends notifications of the pipeline's restart to stakeholders and the affected communities. PHMSA said in a release that Enbridge would have to fix "every portion of the 154 specific known anomalies" in Line 6B within 180 days. The company must also submit plans and a schedule for replacing the pipeline that crosses the St. Clair River between Ontario and Michigan. Pipeline companies often don't repair all anomalies that are detected, but focus on those most likely to lead to incidents. PHMSA's demand that all of Line 6B's anomalies be fixed, as well as the pipeline that crosses the St. Clair River, follows concerns voiced by members of Congress to regulators and Enbridge executives at a hearing last week. Enbridge's Line 6B leaked an estimated 19,500 barrels of oil into the Kalamazoo River in July in one of the worst oil spills in the history of the U.S. Midwest. It finished repairing the 190,000-barrel-a-day pipeline at the end of August, and has been awaiting regulator approval for a restart. -By Edward Welsch, Dow Jones Newswires; 403-229-9095; edward.welsch@dowjones.com
