Yellowstone River
In January, a 12-inch pipeline owned by Bridger Pipeline LLC burst in Montana, spilling 30,000 gallons of oil that leaked into the Yellowstone River and
contaminated residents' drinking water with cancer-causing chemicals. No time to clean up messes though,
when there's oil to be shipped.
A Wyoming company is preparing to resume oil shipments through a pipeline that broke and spewed 30,000 gallons of crude into Montana's Yellowstone River, even as most of the spilled oil remains unrecovered.
Cleanup is on hold near the small city of Glendive, where the water supply for 6,000 residents was temporarily contaminated.
Why is cleanup on hold?
Efforts to remove oil from the Yellowstone will resume after it's clear of ice and safe to work on, said a spokesman for Bridger Pipeline LLC, the company responsible for the spill. But prospects were considered slim for much more crude to be recovered so long after the spill.
Only a tenth of the oil has been recovered from the January spill.
The 50-mile section of pipeline that is soon resuming operation is located beneath the spill site. It looks like cleanup is poised to restart soon as ice breaks.