Environment official: Saltwater spill reached Missouri River
Source: AP-Excite
By BLAKE NICHOLSON
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Water testing has shown that saltwater contamination from a massive pipeline spill in northwestern North Dakota reached the Missouri River, the state's environmental chief said Friday, adding that officials don't expect harm to wildlife or drinking water supplies because it was so diluted.
Blacktail Creek and the Little Muddy River were contaminated after nearly 3 million gallons of saltwater leaked this month from a pipeline operated by Summit Midstream Partners LLC, the largest spill of its kind in the state since the current energy boom began.
Testing showed elevated levels of chloride contamination where the Little Muddy River empties into the Missouri, but the levels diluted to within water quality standards almost immediately, said Dave Glatt, chief of the North Dakota Department of Health's environmental health section. He said the contaminants diluted quickly because of the size of the river and its volume of water.
"We're not anticipating any public impacts, we're not anticipating any wildlife impacts," Glatt said. "But we'll continue to monitor."
FULL story at link.
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://apnews.excite.com/article/20150123/us--north_dakota_saltwater_spill-7b925e57b0.html
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