Pipeline spills in North Dakota, went undetected

The Belle Fourche Pipeline was reported leaking oil nearly one week ago after a landowner discovered the oil in a creek. The Casper, Wyo., company True Cos., which operates the pipeline, said that electronic sensors connected to the pipeline did not detect the leak.

It’s not clear why the spill-monitoring sensors malfunctioned and did not detect the leak, said Wendy Owen, a spokeswoman for True Cos.

The spill underscores the concerns being raised by protesters and American Indian tribes over the Dakota Access pipeline that is about 200 miles from where the Belle Fourche spill occurred. The Army Corps of Engineers halted the project a week ago, asking the company Energy Transfer Partners to find a new route around Lake Oahe.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which has been leading protests against the pipeline, said the project would harm the lake if it were allowed to be completed. The lake is the tribe’s only source of fresh drinking water on the reservation.

The Dakota Access pipeline project has become a national touchstone issue for environmental groups, Democrats and scores of others that are using it to push against fossil fuel development in favor of renewable energy.

North Dakota health officials said about 35,000 gallons of the over 176,000 gallons of oil that spilled from the True Cos. pipeline has been cleaned up from the creek.

True Cos. has a history of oil spills in both North Dakota and nearby Montana. A January 2015 pipeline break spilled 32,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River. Water supplies had to be shut down in the town of Glendive, Mont., after oil was found in its water system.

North Dakota officials said the company has deployed dozens of workers to conduct the cleanup operation. True Cos. also has contracted a Canadian-based firm that specializes in cold water oil spills to assist in the cleanup, according to the Associated Press.