Wednesday, March 11, 2015

BRIDGER PIPELINE SECTION REOPENS NEAR GLENDIVE, MONTANA OIL SPILL






MARCH 11, 2015

GLENDIVE, MONTANA

The pipeline company responsible for the leak of a large amount of crude oil into the Yellowstone River near Glendive on Jan. 17 reopened a portion of the line Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration approved Bridger Pipeline LLC on March 6 to re-open a 49-mile portion of the Poplar System pipeline beyond the point where it ruptured, according to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

The section of the line where the leak occurred is under the riverbed, and that part of the line has not yet been repaired and will remain closed.
Bill Salvin, the pipeline company spokesman, said the part that is restarting is south of the break.

The line from that point south to Baker was in the process of reopening Wednesday morning.

To assure the line is capable of restarting safely, Salvin said the line will be tested by holding pressure in two separate sections for two hours each.
Once the pressure is tested in each section, the entire segment of the re-opened line will be pressure tested and evaluated.

The amount of oil that will move through the line is very minimal, Salvin said.
Salvin said the pipeline will only operate at about 30 to 40 percent of the pressure the line is approved for.

To date, about 548 barrels, or 23,000 gallons, have been recovered from the pipe and the river. 

But that does not mean the cleanup process is nearing an end.
"We don't expect significant recovery from here on out," said Salvin.
With the river ice melting, the technique of slotting and skimming the oil out is no longer possible because crews cannot be on top of the ice.

Salvin said the airboats that crews had been using are now too heavy for the ice.

The state DEQ posted on its website a copy of a Notice of Liability letter that was sent to the pipeline company. The letter states that the pipeline company must complete a final analysis of the oil leak by March 20.

Salvin said the company has received the letter and has been working closely with state and federal agencies to make sure the company meets all of its responsibilities.