July 06, 2011

Exxon's Yellowstone Oil Spill Shows Pipeline Risks

Sue Sturgis writes: "The environmental disaster that began unfolding last week when an ExxonMobil pipeline ruptured in Montana and spilled an estimated 42,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River highlights the serious environmental risks associated with the oil industry's infrastructure -- and foreshadows the problems likely to arise if that infrastructure spreads to other states that are now considering offshore drilling."

"The Houston-based oil giant reports that more than 280 personnel are now involved in cleaning up the spilled oil, which has contaminated farms and other properties along the scenic waterway.

The spill occurred when Exxon's Silvertip pipeline buried six feet below the river sprung a leak last Friday. Though the cause of the leak is not yet known, Eastern Montana got record rainfall last month, and some local officials have raised the possibility that the surging water exposed the pipeline, which in turn could have been damaged by debris.

But there have been problems along the Silvertip before. The U.S. Department of Transportation, which oversees oil pipelines, notified Exxon last July of seven potential safety violations on the Silvertip, with two of the warnings citing problems with the company's emergency response and pipeline corrosion training, CBS News reports. In May, the Silvertip was shut down due to concerns over rising waters, but Exxon restarted the line a day later after deciding the risk was low." 

"The Yellowstone spill comes as the Obama administration is reviewing TransCanada's permit application for the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline that would carry Canadian oil sands crude to Gulf Coast refineries. Environmentalists have raised concerns about that project's impact on wildlife and water supplies. The pipeline would cross the Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies about 30 percent of the groundwater used for agricultural irrigation in the United States and provides drinking water to millions of residents of eight states including Texas."...

"The effort to open up new areas of the U.S. to offshore drilling is often promoted as an economic boon. However, a report [pdf] released last year by Environment North Carolina found that the value of the tourism and fishing industries is three times larger than the value of any oil and gas production in the Eastern Gulf, four times larger in the Mid-Atlantic states and 20 times larger in the South Atlantic."...