CHEBOYGAN COUNTY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — A large oil and gas spill in Northern Michigan, which was first expected to be only 50 barrels large, is still being cleaned up nine months later, according to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).

The leak was first found in April 2025 within the Pigeon River Country State Forest in Cheboygan County, by employees from Lambda Energy, the company that owned the pipe, according to a report by EGLE. The oil spread into a sensitive wetland area, but not into other surrounding bodies of water.

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As of December, the contamination started out covering one acre, but as of December, now covers four and a half acres, according to an article from Interlochen Public Radio.

According to a warning letter written to Lambda Energy in October by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Texas-based company’s system for detecting leaks in pipes had severe flaws.