Cleanup underway for nearly 3M-gallon saltwater spill in ND

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By REGINA GARCIA CANO

Cleanup is underway after nearly 3 million gallons of brine, a salty, toxic byproduct of oil and natural gas production, leaked from a pipeline in western North Dakota. It's the largest spill of its kind in the state since the current energy boom began.

Operator Summit Midstream Partners LLC says its "full and undivided attention" is focused on cleaning up and repairing any environmental damage. A contractor will be on site Thursday, assessing the damage.

The full environmental impact might not be clear for months. A million-gallon saltwater spill in 2006 is still being cleaned up nearly a decade later.

It wasn't immediately clear when the spill began. State health officials on Wednesday said they weren't given a full account of the size until Tuesday.



In this photo taken Jan. 12, 2015, crews dig up land at a saltwater spill site near Blacktail Creek outside Williston, N.D. A North Dakota health official called the 70,000 barrel spill the state's largest during the state's current oil boom. (AP Photo/Williston Herald, Zack Nelson)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bbef653db63346008a3849e0d99b8cdf/cleanup-underway-nearly-3m-gallon-saltwater-spill-nd

[turbinetree]

1. Keystone

Let's see, we had the Yellowstone River debacle yesterday, and now we have this debacle, and this superficial method of clean-up will not and has not solved the problem, because this lack luster industry uses rags to soak up the ground and a floating containment buoys to stop a moving slick above water and below the moving surface river water only 8 inches, nice try it does not work.
The only solution is to not have this energy source, and these an other incidents shows that oil and any other oil extraction production is really not needed and if the republicans enact Keystone this is the future of the Oglala Aquifer and the bread basket of the country.

[2naSalit]

5. Aayuh!

[Nihil]

2. It's not a "salt-water spill" - that's what happens when a big wave hits the sea-front!

> nearly 3 million gallons of brine, a salty, toxic byproduct of oil and natural gas production,

This is a 3M-gallon toxic chemical waste spill.

"Salt-water" is being used deliberately to underplay the damage that these events cause.

Do you think they'd get away with calling it a "freshwater spill" if it was a major sewer that had leaked?

("Well, it was perfectly fresh drinkable water on the way into the toilet so let's just ignore
whatever else it picked up by the time that it left.&quot

[leftyladyfrommo]

3. Is that on the Indian Reservation?

[asiliveandbreathe]

4. Good Luck ND

Why sugar coat it - with using the term saltwater - because it sounds better than benzene ? - From Williston Herald -

http://www.willistonherald.com/news/elevated-levels-efforts

So just how much of a spill is 70,000 barrels -

Here is a thought -

Benzene in the range of 10 to 15 parts per billion was detected from the city's water, said Paul Peronard with the EPA. Anything above 5 parts per billion is considered a long-term risk, he said.

Oh, but what do we need the EPA for..

and the good people of ND found out about the problem in their water two days too late...

[SoapBox]

6. Guess you are never gonna wake up ND...

Until your state is a dead zone.

Now, about your death rate (the one that has skyrocketed) because of deaths at these sites? (An article I read a couple years ago talking about this and how was kept pretty quiet.)