Environmental News 4

Another semester, another oil pipeline bursting ...

Crews work to clean up an oil spill from Bridger Pipeline’s broken pipeline near
Glendive in this aerial view on Monday. Source:LARRY MAYER/Gazette Staff photos (linked)

Oil spills in Montana's Yellowstone River after pipeline leak (Reuters)  

Bridger Pipeline LLC said on Monday it has shut the 42,000 barrel per day Poplar pipeline system after a weekend breach that sent as much as 1,200 barrels of crude oil into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. 

Oil Spill Contaminates Montana Town’s Water Supply, EPA Says (WSJ)
“The initial results of samples taken from the City of Glendive’s drinking water system indicate the presence of hydrocarbons at elevated levels, and water intakes in the river have been closed,” the EPA said in a statement.

Map from National Pipeline Mapping System - Public Map Viewer

Now I finally find the Montanta DEQ site's office posting ...
http://www.deq.mt.gov/yellowstonespill2015.mcpx

The key points are ...

• On January 17^th Bridger Pipeline LLC detected a pressure drop and shut down flow in the pipeline that crosses the Yellowstone River 9.22 river miles south (upstream) of the City of Glendive.
• There was a release of crude oil from a 12-inch pipeline.
• According to company reports, the operator’s aerial patrol plane has confirmed a sheen on the Yellowstone River in open water approximately three fourths-mile downstream and also at the first intake that is 25 miles downstream (north) of Glendive.  Oil sheen has also been found 15 miles north of the intake, near Savage.
• The company estimates between 300 and 1,200 bbLs (12,600 and 50,400 gallons) have been released. 
  UPDATE: Jan.20, 7:30 a.m. - First Water Test Results Received
  Results from the first water sample taken from the Glendive Municipal Water Treatment Plant has come back and the sample showed an elevated level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), predominantly benzene. The presence of benzene would account for reports of adverse odor in the local water supply. This test result confirms findings from field samples taken Monday at several locations in the city.
  While the elevated levels are above the level for long-term consumption, the scientists who reviewed the data at the Centers for Disease Control have told the Unified Command that they “do not see that domestic use of this water poses a short term public health hazard.”

Here is the DEQ site map ...

"River is Froze Over Crews Are Investigating."  Froze over? Seriously ? Sheesh.