Montana Governor Declares State Of Emergency After River Oil Spill
JANUARY 20, 2015 4:26 PM ET
As much as 50,000 gallons of oil has spilled into the Yellowstone River in Montana. Those who live in surrounding cities have been told not to drink tap water. In 2011, more than 60,000 gallons of oil spilled in the same river.
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
As much as 50,000 gallons of crude oil has spilled into the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana. It was caused by a pipeline rupture near the high plains town of Glendive. The governor has declared a state of emergency in two counties because of the spill. Montana Public Radio's Eric Whitney reports.
ERIC WHITNEY, BYLINE: The company running the operation, Bridger Pipeline, says their 12-inch diameter pipe ruptured at 10 a.m. Saturday. Dena Hoff is a farmer on land adjacent to the pipeline.
DENA HOFF: I'm very upset, and I want to know how they're going to deal with it.
WHITNEY: Dealing with it is proving to be a challenge as much of the river in the area is encased in ice and conditions on the river and nearby can be treacherous this time of year for cleanup crews. Furthermore, it's still unclear where all the oil is. No one expected it to sink to the level where Glendive draws its drinking water - about 14 feet below the river's surface - but Mayor Jerry Jimison says that apparently happened.
MAYOR JERRY JIMISON: Sunday afternoon in the evening we started getting reports from residents that their water smelled funny, so we chose to alert residents not to drink the water until we could resolve the problem.
WHITNEY: Montana and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency testing has detected the cancer-causing chemical benzene in Glendive's tap water. The town's water system serves about 6,000 people. No one knows how long it'll take before the water is safe to drink again. Meanwhile, truckloads of bottled water started arriving in town late Sunday. Montana Governor Steve Bullock toured the oil spill site Monday afternoon. He says cleaning up events like this can take some time.
more:
http://www.npr.org/2015/01/20/378660013/montana-governor-declares-state-of-emergency-after-river-oil-spill
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