Trial Under Way in Oil Spill Cleanup Worker Case in Michigan

A trial is under way in the case of a man who claims he was wrongfully fired from his job cleaning up a 2010 pipeline rupture that spilled more than 800,000 gallons of oil in southern Michigan.

John Bolenbaugh of Battle Creek says he was fired as a temporary cleanup worker for SET Environmental Inc. because he told the Environmental Protection Agency of unscrupulous conduct by contractors.

SET Environmental says Bolenbaugh was fired because he brought cleanup footage to a TV station in violation of company policies.

Bolenbaugh is seeking lost wages and other compensation. The civil trial in Calhoun County began Wednesday and is to last into next week.

The spill into the Kalamazoo River and Talmadge Creek near Marshall came from Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge Inc.’s pipeline. Cleanup continues.