EPA Update on Yellowstone River Oil Spill (Silvertip Pipeline), July 16, 2011 (MT)
EPA Update on Yellowstone River Oil Spill
(Silvertip Pipeline), July 16, 2011
Lisa McClain-Vanderpool, (303) 501-4027,
(
[email protected]); Libby Faulk, (406) 351-9014
(Billings, Mont --, July 16, 2011) The U.S. EPA
continues to oversee the response to the ExxonMobil spill on the
Yellowstone River. This weekend, EPA and DOT partners
are overseeing Exxon’s removal of any residual oil from
two segments of pipeline on either side of the break location. EPA
and the state have reviewed and approved these procedures to ensure
that there are no further releases of oil into the environment as a
result of these activities.
Today the north segment of the pipeline was
drained of approximately 8400 gallons (200 barrels) of oily water
without any releases to the environment and was trucked back to
ExxonMobil Billings Refinery for storage while samples are being
analyzed. Sunday, the south segment of the pipeline will be
vacuumed and we anticipate there will be a higher volume of
residual oil in that segment due to the way fluids travelled
through the pipeline during the spill. Approved procedures
are in place to ensure that residual oil and water are
properly and safely removed.
There are over 700 personnel on site with over
500 currently in the field engaged in cleanup or sampling
activities. About 13% of these personnel are local hires.
There are over 50 boats on scene as well.
PLEASE NOTE:
Beginning Monday, July 18th, our daily media
briefings will occur via conference call only, at 3:00pm
MDT.
There is no call on Sunday, July 17th. There will be no
press releases this weekend but we will continue to post the latest
information including monitoring data and progress on clean-up and
restoration on our website, www.epa.gov/yellowstoneriverspill. For conference call dial-in information, please
contact the people listed above.
At approximately 11:00 PM on Friday, July 1 a
break occurred in a 12-inch pipeline owned by ExxonMobil Pipeline
Co. 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 Pipeline Co..
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
Pipeline Co., the responsible party, accountable for assessment and
cleanup.
Press inquiries:
[email protected]
Please visit http://www.epa.gov/yellowstoneriverspill
for the latest information, data, and
maps.
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.