More questions than answers at Yellowstone River oil spill
It feels like we've been here before. The Yellowstone River oil spill is beginning to look very familiar, like a not-so-distant relative to the Gulf Of Mexico spill. There's an underestimation of how much oil was released, false reassurances to residents about their health and safety, and, here's the kicker, no press allowed on site.
Plus, like the gulf, the outlook is becoming more grim with the cleanup expanding. Here's there most challenging feature though: The gulf and the river are very different bodies of water. The Yellowstone River moves quickly, 5 to 7 mph, according to National Wildlife Federation senior scientist Doug Inkley. The rushing water is dispersing the oil farther away from the spill site so the booms and pads can't catch it. Also, there aren't large amounts of crude on the surface so burning and dispersants, controversial methods used at the gulf, won't work and the flood waters make it harder for boats to assess the cleanup.
Matthew Brown reported on the estimate of the cleanup yesterday. Here is an excerpt:
State environmental regulators have asked Exxon Mobil to justify its estimate for how much oil spilled into the Yellowstone River, citing the company’s changing timeline on how long it took to stop a leaking pipeline.
The Texas-based company has said between 31,500 and 42,000 gallons of crude flowed into the Yellowstone following the leak near Laurel on July 1. That oil has fouled shoreline and contaminated backwaters along dozens of miles of the scenic river.
Exxon Mobil Pipeline president Gary Pruessing initially said it took six minutes to shut down the pumps on the Silvertip pipeline. But information submitted by the company to federal pipeline safety regulators later revealed it took almost an hour to fully stop the flow.
In a letter to Exxon executives, Montana Department of Environmental Quality Director Richard Opper asked for an explanation of why the spill volume was not changed given the longer timeline.
“Since the event occurred, ExxonMobil has increased its estimate of the duration of the spill event 10-fold from its original assertion,” Opper wrote. “Despite this revision as to the duration of the event, ExxonMobil has not revised its estimate as to the volume of the spill into the river.”
The focus of the cause has been centered on high waters that potentially scoured out the river bed and exposed the buried pipe to damaging rocks and debris.
ExxonMobil has deservedly criticized for downplaying the severity of the oil spill and I think the information we've received has been misleading information. Look, this is the risk you take when you own a pipeline. Right now, TransCanada is preparing the the Keystone XL pipeline, a $7 billion pump which will cross the Yellowstone River as it brings crude oil to the U.S. from tar sands developments in Alberta. TransCanada is waiting on a permit from the Obama administration this November. I wonder why Yellowstone residents are opposing this project? Huh.
Stay tuned.
