Flooding Slows Yellowstone Oil Spill Response
Flooding and swift river currents have hindered cleanup efforts and attempts to determine the cause of an oil pipeline rupture that caused at least 750 barrels (31,500 gallons/119,240 liters) of oil to spill into the Yellowstone River in Montana, according to pipeline operator ExxonMobil.
ExxonMobil president Gary Pruessing said cleanup crews are undertaking daily aerial flights over the river to identify oil locations and monitor cleanup activity, and are beginning to walk parts of the shoreline. But the high river level and strong river currents limit their ability to do so.
The rupture in the 12-inch (30.5-centimeter) diameter pipe, which had been buried below the riverbed, occurred Friday evening, spilling what ExxonMobil estimated to be between 750 and 1,000 barrels of
