Yellowstone Spill Could Sour Montana on Keystone Pipeline: NRDC

"CALGARY - An oil spill last weekend could sour Montana residents on a proposal to build a new crude pipeline through the state, a critic of TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL project said Monday.

"I think that Montana had in the past not really been too concerned about the Keystone XL pipeline, and I think this is really going to change that," said Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's international program.

ExxonMobil Corp. estimates its pipeline spilled up to 1,000 barrels, or nearly 160,000 litres, of crude into the Yellowstone River late Friday night before the flow was stopped. The break near Laurel, Mont., has fouled kilometres of riverbank and forced municipalities and irrigation districts to close intakes across the eastern part of the state.

Keystone XL would transport Canadian oil to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast via Montana and five other states, and would be far bigger than the ExxonMobil line that leaked."

Lauren Krugel reports for the Canadian Press July 4, 2011.

SEE ALSO:

"Debris and Heavy Flow of Water Hamper Cleanup of Oil in Yellowstone River" (New York Times)

"Montana Governor Seeks Additional Resources for Yellowstone River Oil Spill Cleanup" (All Headline News)

"Montana Leak May Alter Exxon Safety Reviews" (Reuters)

"Scope of Yellowstone River Oil Spill May Grow" (MSNBC)

"Exxon Mobil Admits Spread of Yellowstone Oil Spill" (AP)

"Oil Spill Outrages Montana Residents" (Los Angeles Times)

"Yellowstone River Oil Spill: Pollution Found 100 Miles From Rupture" (Alaska Dispatch)

"Exxon Pipeline Oil Spill Cleanup Efforts Widening" (Wall St. Journal)

"Oil Spill In Montana River Forces Evacuation" (AP)