Exxon oil spills in Yellowstone River, forces evacuations

Topdawg13 · Jul 2, 2011

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An ExxonMobil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone River near Billings in south-central Montana ruptured and dumped an unknown amount of oil into the waterway, prompting temporary evacuations along the river Saturday.

Company spokeswoman Pam Malek said the pipe leaked for about a half-hour, though it's not clear how much oil spilled into the water.

The cause of the rupture in the pipe carrying crude oil from Belfry, Mont., to the company's refinery in Billings wasn't known.

Brent Peters, the fire chief for the city of Laurel about 12 miles east of Billings, said the break in the 12-inch diameter pipe occurred late Friday about a mile south of Laurel.

In a statement Saturday, ExxonMobil said it was sending its North American Regional Response Team to the area to help with cleanup work, and that state and federal authorities had been alerted to the spill from the pipe belonging to the ExxonMobil Pipeline Company.

The company "deeply regrets this release and is working hard with local emergency authorities to mitigate the impacts of this release on the surrounding communities and to the environment," the statement said.

ExxonMobil officials said cleanup crews of up to about 140 workers were expected to arrive in the area with 36 hours.

The cause of the break is not known, but Peters and Malek said speculation involves high water flowing through the river that might have gouged out the river bed and exposed the pipe, which was possibly hit by debris.
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Ohio Fanatic · Jul 2, 2011

nice, way to go Exxon

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