THE WYOMING COMPANY WHOSE PIPELINE LEAKED 30,000 GALLONS OF CRUDE OIL INTO THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER IN MONTANA AND ITS SISTER COMPANY HAVE HAD MULTIPLE PIPELINE SPILLS AND FEDERAL FINES LEVIED AGAINST THEM IN THE LAST DECADE
The Associated Press
February 1, 2015
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming company whose pipeline
leaked 30,000 gallons of crude oil into the Yellowstone River in Montana and
its sister company have had multiple pipeline spills and federal fines levied
against them in the last decade, according to government records.
Bridger Pipeline LLC, the operator of the Poplar Pipeline
that broke recently near Glendive, Montana, recorded nine pipeline incidents
between 2006 and 2014, according to the pipeline administration. Combined, they
leaked nearly 11,000 gallons of crude.
Its sister company, Belle Fourche Pipeline Co., recorded 21
incidents over the same period, during which a total of 272,832 gallons of oil
was spilled.
Both companies are operated from the same control room in
Casper and are owned by the True family.
Tad True, vice president of Bridger and Belle Fourche, said
the companies have made great efforts to improve their compliance record in
recent years.
Since 2009, Bridger has been inspected eight times. Belle
Fourche has been inspected on nine occasions. The companies have not been
issued a fine in any of those inspections, federal records show.
"In this day and age, there is nothing more important
than the integrity and safety of our pipes," True told the Casper
Star-Tribune (http://bit.ly/1ClEQkU). "We do work very hard to remediate
any of those spills and learn from them."
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
initially proposed fining the company $70,000 for a series of procedural
violations stemming from a 2006 spill, where 210 gallons of oil were leaked.
One charge stated Bridger failed to conduct a post-accident
review of employees' activities during the incident.
"In general, Bridger has a poor compliance
history," Jeffrey Wiese, a federal regulator charged with overseeing
pipeline safety, wrote in a 2012 order regarding a 2006 oil spill.