DisastersMontana floods exacerbate Exxon oil spill
Flooding in Montana has exacerbated the effects of an oil spill and made clean up more difficult for Exxon Mobil; it is estimated that roughly 750 top 1,000 barrels of crude oil have leaked into the Yellowstone River near Billings, Montana; the pipeline has been shut down, but flooding in the area has made it difficult for clean-up crews to find the source of the leak
Cleanup on the Yellowstone River hampered by floodwaters // Source: politicolnews.com
Flooding in Montana has exacerbated the effects of an oil spill and made clean up more difficult for Exxon Mobil.
Exxon estimates that roughly 750 top 1,000 barrels of crude oil have leaked into the Yellowstone River near Billings, Montana. The pipeline has been shut down, but flooding in the area has made it difficult for clean-up crews to find the source of the leak.
In addition, flooding has spread the oil to riverbanks, farmlands, and surface water. Local officials say the leaking oil could be carried by the floods for hundreds of miles to the Missouri River.
So far oil has been detected as far as five miles down the river from the pipeline’s location, and the company is investigating other sightings.
According to Exxon, air quality tests have not detected any danger to public health, and the company has not received any reports of damage to water quality from local water utilities.
So far company officials have yet to determine the reason for the spill, but believe that flooding in the region may have been the cause. The pipe was inspected in December and met with “all regulatory requirements and in June the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration also audited the pipe.
The leak stems from a twelve-inch crude oil pipeline that stretches from Silver Tip, Montana to Billings. The line delivers 60,000 barrels a day to the Billings where Exxon has a refinery adjacent to the Yellowstone River.
To help stem the flow of oil, Exxon is calling in crews from across the country.
“We will stay with the cleanup until it is complete, and we sincerely apologize to the people of Montana for any inconvenience the incident is creating,” said Gary Pruessing, the president of Exxon Mobil Pipeline.
The spill comes after a series of recent natural gas pipeline explosions and a major spill in July 2010 where 20,000 barrels of oil leaked from a pipeline in Michigan.
