REMEDIATION
CONTINUES TO CLEANUP THE MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF TOXIC SALTWATER LEAKED INTO
NORTH DAKOTA CREEK
January 22, 2015
WILLISTON, N.D. (Reuters) - Almost 3 million gallons of
potentially toxic saltwater leaked from a western North Dakota pipeline into a
creek that feeds the Missouri River, the largest spill of its kind in the
state's history.
The leak, from a four-inch saltwater pipeline operated
by Summit Midstream Partners LP approximately 15 miles north of Williston,
occurred earlier this month and was reported to state officials on Jan. 7. It's
not clear what caused the leak and an investigation is underway, a Summit spokesman
said.
Saltwater spills are not uncommon in the oil patch,
though the size of the Summit leak has caught many by surprise. While the spill
was first reported publicly on Jan. 8, a statement late Wednesday from the
Department of Health was the first to disclose the spill's volume.
The impact of spill on the local environment and the
length of time needed for a cleanup is being assessed, officials said, though
mop-up operations from other smaller accidents have taken years.
"Our goal is: you make the mess, you clean it
up," said Dave Glatt, spokesman for the North Dakota Department of Health.
Saltwater is a byproduct of the hydraulic fracturing
process, or fracking. The water has a much higher concentration of brine than
regular saltwater, and can contain petroleum and metal filings picked up during
the fracking process.
Typically it is filtered and re-injected back into the
earth after oil is extracted, though pipelines or trucks are required to
transport it to injection sites.
The leak does not pose a threat to drinking water
supplies, the North Dakota Department of Health said in a statement released on
Wednesday. Summit said it does not believe wildlife was affected.
Several boom barriers had been placed in Blacktail Creek
downstream from the broken pipe, according to a Reuters reporter who visited
the area on Thursday. Parts of the creek were laced with a copper-colored
sediment that did not resemble typical North Dakota soil, the reporter said.
Remediation officials would not allow access to the site
of the damaged pipe, which was a few hundred yards away from a small Lutheran
church.
It is by far the largest saltwater spill ever in North
Dakota, eclipsing a leak of about 1 million gallons last July from a Crestwood
Midstream Partners pipeline into Lake Sakakawea.
The saltwater from the Summit line leaked into a creek
that passes by Williston, considered the capital of the state's oil boom, and
flows into the Missouri River.
Williston's drinking water comes from the Missouri
River, though the city's water department has the ability to turn off
collection valves until any harmful material washes downstream.
The state's Department of Health said it is monitoring
cleanup efforts, and the state's Department of Mineral Resources is inspecting
Summit's entire pipeline network, officials said.
Summit has hired Stantec Inc to clean up the spill.
About 2 million gallons of water have been pulled so far from one of the
affected creeks, though it was not immediately clear if that amount was all
saltwater or normal water flow.
Remediation will be difficult given that much of the
affected area is covered by ice.
"We will continue to work tirelessly to see that
the cleanup is completed," Rene Casadaban, Summit's operating chief, said
in a statement.
It's not clear when the line will re-open, though much
of Summit's business involves natural gas transport, meaning day-to-day
operations should largely be unaffected.
Shares of Summit closed down 6 cents to $33.97 per share
on Thursday. In the past three months the stock has lost 29 percent of its
value, part of a broader sell-off in the energy industry amidst low oil and
natural gas prices.
