(AP) -- LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan attorney general's office has opened an investigation into a massive oil spill in the Kalamazoo River.
Mike Cox made the announcement Friday. He's one of five Republicans running for governor.
Cox is one of several gubernatorial candidates who have toured the spill area.
AG's office spokesman John Sellek says Michigan law gives the state the power to deal with water quality separately from the actions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Tiffany Brown, spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, says the governor would be doing the same thing if she were the attorney general.
The Canadian company that owns the pipeline that leaked the oil estimates the spill at 820,000 gallons. The EPA puts the total at more than 1 million gallons.
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