Living with the oil spill

MARSHALL, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – Work continues to clean up a massive oil spill in West Michigan.

Those living at the epicenter of the spill are getting the worst of it. The stench is overwhelming for many.

On Wednesday Newschannel 3 spoke to a homeowner dealing with that smell.

Spend time around the site of the spill and your eyes, nose and throat will feel like they're burning from the fumes. Neighbors say the smell and stress associated with the leak has been lingering like an unwanted house guest since Sunday.

“When you're in the house the fumes are in the house worse than outside,” said Debbie Grove.

Grove lives across the street from the site where Enbridge is digging to fix the leaky pipe. As more trucks roll up and down Division, Grove says she grows more and more concerned about what the leak will do the groundwater in the future.

“Eventually, city water will want to come through here and we'll be having to pay another bill,” said Grove, “which to me, Enbridge should have to pay for it.”

Grove is also worried about what the intense fumes may do to her five granchildren.

“They were only here a half-hour today and they were already getting sick to their stomach,” said Grove.

Neighbor Lucielle Zink has lived in the area for more than 50 years. She says there have been trucks with cranes and bulldozers on them clogging up traffic on the road, however she doesn't see a quick solution to the issues.

“I can't even visualize it ever happening,” said Zink. “Getting it all cleared up in a short period of time, I don't think it will.”

Grove says the company has offered to put people who live near the leak up in a hotel, but says there is a catch. She says they don't have the resources needed to put money up front while waiting for reimbursement.

“We can leave, but you've got to pay for it and they just reimburse you,” said Grove, “and you don't know how long it will be before you get reimbursed, and with the economy the way it is, and my husband hasn't been to work for over two years.”

Grove says she's also heard from neighbors that the hotels in the area are full, so those looking to escape the smell may have to go as far away as Jackson.