January 2015, Vol. 242, No. 1

Projects

Concerns about water quality after MT pipeline rupture

Matthew Brown, Associated Press

GLENDIVE, Mont. (AP) — Workers recovered about 10,000 gallons of oil from a ruptured pipeline that spilled crude into Yellowstone River and contaminated the drinking water supply of an eastern Montana city downstream.

An estimated 40,000 gallons is still in the river and will be difficult to remove because of a thick layer of ice.

Bridger Pipeline Co. spokesman Bill Salvin said Wednesday that only a small amount of oil has been recovered from the river itself.

Montana Department of Environmental Quality Director Tom Livers says he’s concerned that when the ice breaks up in the spring, oil will spread further downstream.

Authorities are working to clean up the water supply for the agricultural community of Glendive after cancer-causing benzene was detected.

Bridger Pipeline says it will provide bottled water for the city’s roughly 6,000 residents until the water treatment plant is running again.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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