LAUREL, Mont. — Crews cleaning up an oil spill on the Yellowstone River faced difficult conditions Tuesday as the scenic waterway rose above flood stage and stoked fears that surging currents could push crude into undamaged areas and back channels vital to the river’s prized fishery.
Conditions on the Yellowstone have hampered efforts to find the cause of Friday’s break in the 12-inch pipeline that spilled an estimated 1,000 barrels of crude oil.
The river has been flowing too swiftly for crews to reach some oiled areas, and forecasters said mountain snowmelt was adding to high water levels.
Much of the riverbank also is covered with dense underbrush, making it difficult to walk the shoreline. Most observations have been made from the air.
Company and federal officials said they have seen oil only as far as about 25 miles downstream from the site of the break near Laurel. But Gov. Brian Schweitzer said he believes some has traveled hundreds of miles to North Dakota.
“At 7 miles per hour, some oil is already in North Dakota. That’s a given,” Schweitzer said. “I’m asking everyone to get out there and report what you see on the river.”
The Silvertip pipeline is buried just under the bottom of Yellowstone River, delivering 40,000 barrels of oil a day to a refinery in Billings. Federal regulators have ordered Exxon to make safety improvements to the 20-year-old line. Among them was an order to re-bury the line to protect against external damage and assess risk where it crosses a waterway.
Schweitzer also ordered a review of pipelines that cross major and minor rivers in the state.
The spill site is downstream of Yellowstone National Park, which is not under threat.
