Nearly 3 million gallons of saltwater generated by oil drilling have leaked from a North Dakota pipeline, an official said Wednesday, the largest such spill since the state’s current oil boom began and nearly three times worse than any previous spill. Two creeks have been affected, but the full environmental effect might not be clear for months.
Operator Summit Midstream Partners LLC detected the pipeline spill on Jan. 6, about 15 miles north of Williston and told health officials then. Officials say they weren’t given a full account of the size until Tuesday.
Cleanup has begun and inspectors have been monitoring the area, but it will be difficult to measure the effects on the environment and wildlife until the ice melts, said Dave Glatt, chief of the North Dakota Department of Health’s environmental health section. Some previous saltwater spills have taken years to clean up.
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“Until we start holding companies fully accountable with penalties, I don’t think we’re going to change this whole situation we have in North Dakota,” said Peterson, a board member of the Northwest Landowners Association.
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Associated Press writers James MacPherson in Bismarck, North Dakota, and John Flesher in Traverse City, Michigan, contributed to this report.
