EPA Update on Yellowstone River Oil Spill (Silvertip Pipeline), July 14, 2011 (MT)
EPA Update on Yellowstone River Oil Spill
(Silvertip Pipeline), July 14, 2011
Shoreline teams move downriver, cleanup and
sampling continue
Matthew Allen, (720) 237-7414; Libby Faulk,
(406) 351-9014
(Billings, Mont --, July 14, 2011) The U.S. EPA
continues to oversee the response to the ExxonMobil spill on the
Yellowstone River. Today, Shoreline Cleanup & Assessment
Technique (SCAT) teams continue to carefully assess and clean up
the most heavily affected areas of the spill and comb the
riverbanks. A total of seven SCAT teams are now working along the
shores of the Yellowstone River.
“We’re focusing our efforts on
vegetation and shoreline cleanup,” said Steve Merritt, EPA
On-Scene Coordinator. “Our SCAT teams are evaluating every
section of accessible shoreline to direct cleanup operations and
make sure we don’t do more harm than good in these
actions.”
Cleanup methods will vary depending on how
much oil is present at a location, and SCAT teams will work to
ensure a proper balance between cleanup and minimizing further
impacts to ecosystems. To better allocate ground resources, the
affected areas of the river have been further subdivided. Zones A
and B remain the same. Zone C now ends at Yellowstone County line
instead of Miles City. Zones D through H correspond with county
lines moving east to Glendive, MT.
There are 750 personnel on site with 540
currently in the field engaged in cleanup or sampling activities.
Cleanup crews have used over 36,000 feet of absorbent booms and
260,000 absorbent pads, among other materials.. There are 54
boats on scene as well.
At approximately 11:00 PM on Friday, July 1 a
break occurred in a 12-inch pipeline owned by ExxonMobil that
resulted in a spill of crude oil into the Yellowstone River
approximately 20 miles upstream of Billings, Montana. The current
estimate of the amount of oil released remains at 1,000 barrels
based on information provided by ExxonMobil. EPA's primary concern
is protecting people's health and the environment. EPA will remain
on-site to ensure cleanup and restoration efforts do just that. EPA
continues to hold ExxonMobil, the responsible party, accountable
for assessment and cleanup.
Tomorrow’s media availability session will
be at 11 a.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 27 North
27th St in Billings. PLEASE NOTE: A conference line is
available for media who cannot attend. Please contact the
individuals listed at the top of this release for dial-in
information.
The Montana DEQ encourages people to call the
Governor’s information line at 406-657-0231 with questions,
concerns or comments, or visit www.yellowstoneriveroilspill.mt.gov.
Press inquiries:
[email protected]
Website: http://www.epa.gov/yellowstoneriverspill