A pipeline leak has spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude
oil into a North Dakota creek roughly two and a half hours from Cannon
Ball, where protesters are camped out in opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline.
Members of the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes, as well as environmentalists from around the country, have fought the pipeline project
on the grounds that it crosses beneath a lake that provides drinking
water to native Americans. They say the route beneath Lake Oahe puts the
water source in jeopardy and would destroy sacred land.
North Dakota officials estimate more than
176,000 gallons of crude oil leaked from the Belle Fourche Pipeline into
the Ash Coulee Creek. State environmental scientist Bill Suess says a
landowner discovered the spill on Dec. 5 near the city of Belfield,
which is roughly 150 miles from the epicenter of the Dakota Access
pipeline protest camps.
The leak was contained within hours of the its discovery, Wendy
Owen, a spokeswoman for Casper, Wyoming-based True Cos., which operates
the Belle Fourche pipeline, told CNBC.
It's not yet clear why electronic monitoring equipment didn't detect the leak, Owen told the Asssociated Press.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
No comments:
Post a Comment