Yellowstone river suffers oil spill

Exxon Mobil pipeline rupture leaks hundreds of barrels of oil into key waterway and tourist attraction, prompting evacuations An Exxon Mobil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone river in Montana ruptured on Saturday and has leaked hundreds of barrels of oil into the waterway, causing a 25-mile (40km) plume that fouled the riverbank. The breach in south-central Montana led to temporary evacuations of hundreds of residents along a 20-mile stretch of the river, a key tourist attraction in the region that runs through the famous national park of the same name. Cleanup crews deployed booms and absorbent material as the plume moved downstream at around 7mph (10km/h). The river has no dams on its way to its confluence with the Missouri river just across the Montana border in North Dakota. It was unclear how far the plume might travel. “The parties responsible will restore the Yellowstone river,” Brian Schweitzer, the governor of Montana, said. Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Pam Malek said the pipe leaked an estimated 750 to 1,000 barrels of oil for about half an hour before it was shut down. Other Exxon officials estimate up to 42,000 gallons (158,982 litres) of crude oil escaped. Duane Winslow, Yellowstone county director of disaster and emergency services, said the plume was dissipating as it moved downstream. “We’re just kind of waiting for it to move on down while Exxon is trying to figure out how to corral this monster,” Winslow said. “The timing couldn’t be worse,” said Steve Knecht, chief of operations for Montana disaster and emergency services , who added that the plume was measured at 25 miles near Pompeys Pillar national monument. “With the Yellowstone running at flood stage and all the debris, it makes it dang tough to get out there to do anything.” Brent Peters, the fire chief for the city of Laurel, said about 140 people in the area were evacuated early on Saturday due to concerns about possible explosions and the overpowering fumes. He said they were allowed to return at about 4am after the fumes decreased. Winslow said hundreds of residents downstream were told to evacuate in the early morning hours as authorities knocked on doors, but it was unclear how many did. In a statement, Exxon Mobil said it was sending a team to help with the cleanup, and that state and federal authorities had been alerted to the spill. The Exxon Mobil Pipeline Company “deeply regrets this release”, it said. Oil spills Oil Exxon Mobil Oil United States Pollution guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 3, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.