The Poplar pipeline system has been shut down after up to 1,200 barrels of light crude oil leaked into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana.
The 12-inch pipeline, which carries 42,000 barrels per day, runs from the Canadian border to Baker, Montana, where it connects with the Butte pipeline.
It is currently unclear what caused the breach, but operator Bridger Pipeline said that they managed to shut down the pipeline within an hour and that it remains shut as they focus on clean up.
Tad True, vice president of Bridger Pipeline, said:
“Our primary concern is to minimize the environmental impact of the release and keep our responders
safe as we clean up from this unfortunate incident.”
The environmental impact of the spill may be limited thanks to the fact that much of the area around the breach was frozen at the time, reducing the amount of oil that was able to flow into the river.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality have taken samples of local drinking water for analysis and the Center for Disease Control has recommended those living in the vicinity do not ingest municipal water and use bottled water for drinking and cooking.
Residents of nearby Dawson County have complained of an odour in their drinking water.
An aerial patrol also spotted an oil sheen to the river water as far as 25 miles from the spill site.
The breach is the second in recent years, with Exxon Mobil’s Silvertip pipeline leaking more than 1,000 barrels of crude oil into the Yellowstone River in 2011.
