18 July 2011

Oil Leak Flooded into the Montana Cutbank River

This is a second oil leak in Montana, not covered in the media.

Saturday, July 16th, 2011

OIL PIPELINE BREAKS, SIGNIFICANT VOLUME OF OIL FLOODED INTO CUTBANK RIVER

A break in an oil collection pipeline on the eastern prairie of the Blackfeet Reservation approximately 5 miles from the town of Cutbank has led to a flood of crude that has been flowing approximately one mile over land and into the Cutbank river. Tribal officials received word of the spill on Tuesday, but it remains unclear when, or why the pipeline, which is managed by FX Drilling, actually began leaking oil.

Tribal officials confirmed that oil was spotted in the river at least two weeks ago by a kayaker who reported he was paddling through oil to 911. According to a preliminary investigation by the Blackfoot Environmental Department, FX Drilling attempted to fix the pipeline after the 911 call, but left the break unmended for over a week, claiming they were unable to access the site. Also according to the investigation, FX failed to initiate cleanup on the site after fixing the pipeline. On Wednesday, nearly three weeks after the initial discovery of the spill, absorbent booms were finally placed by Indian Country Environmental Associates (ICEA) on the shore of the Cutbank where the oil merges with the river. ICEA is a company contracted by the tribe to handle cleanup of oil spills on the reservation.

FX Drilling Corporation has claimed that the leak released "two barrels" of oil, or 84 gallons. However, officials with the Blackfeet Environmental Department have estimated the spill to be "several thousand gallons." The volume of oil observed at the site was large enough to seep through a wheat field and down a coulee for approximately one mile where it entered the Cutbank River. It is the second significant release of oil into Montana rivers during the last month.

Several questions plague the indicent, not least is FX Drilling's handling of the spillage. Their failure to disclose the event to the press, community, or Tribal authorities has caused suspicion that their conduct was not merely negligent, but indicative of a coverup. According to Mary Clare Weatherwax, an official at the Blackfeet Environmental Department, "There was definitely a lack of communication that would have allowed a proper response." Weatherwax was also concerned that a wetland in the path of the spill had absorbed much of the oil as it traveled downhill.

The authors of this press release; Destini Vaile and Reed Perry local ecologists, became aware of the spill when contractors began quietly hiring people off the street $25 an hour (cash) cleanup jobs. On Friday, the two located the source of the leakage on the edge of a wheat field and began measuring the dimensions of the contamination. They obtained soil and water samples from the shore of the river that are now awaiting analysis at the Blackfeet Hospital Water Lab.

A video of the incident will be uploaded shortly. 

For further information please contact 

Reed Perry
reedbperry[at]gmail.com
(406)-214-1510

Destini Vaile
destini[at]mad.scientist.com
(406) 493-8668

Coordinates of the spill area on Google:

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=48.562096,-112.300186&spn=0.013718,0.035791&gl=us&t=k&z=15

FX Spill Ruben - Ruben Moreno shows the oil on his hands after taking a water sample from the pool behind him. The sample will be analyzed at Blackfeet Community Hospital Water Lab in Browning. Destini Vaile

FX Spill Oil Stream - The oil formed a flowing creek descending to the Cutbank River. Destini Vaile

FX Spill Wheat Field - The leak originated in this wheat field. Crude oil pushed up from a broken pipeline approximately ten feet underground before spreading over the topsoil. Destini Vaile

FX Cleanup Crew - A cleanup crew that arrived on Friday lowered several booms into the drainage and the Cutbank River to slow the flow of oil. Destini Vaile