Great Lakes Basis receives a temporary suspension of SLB’s Environmental Review

 

 

Company: Equipment didn't detect North Dakota oil leak

 

Associated Press

Get the app

By JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press1 hr ago

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Electronic monitoring equipment failed to detect a pipeline rupture that spewed more than 176,000 gallons of crude oil into a North Dakota creek, the pipeline's operator said Monday.

It's not yet clear why the monitoring equipment didn't detect the leak, Wendy Owen, a spokeswoman for Casper, Wyoming-based True Cos., which operates the Belle Fourche Pipeline, said.

A landowner discovered the spill near Belfield on Dec. 5, according to Bill Suess, an environmental scientist with the North Dakota Health Department.

Suess said the spill migrated about almost 6 miles from the spill site along Ash Coulee Creek, and it fouled an unknown amount of private and U.S. Forest Service land along the waterway. The creek feeds into the Little Missouri River, but Seuss said it appears no oil got that far and that no drinking water sources were threatened. The creek was free-flowing when the spill occurred but has since frozen over.

Suess said about 37,000 gallons of oil had been recovered as of Monday.

Owen said the pipeline was shut down immediately after the leak was discovered. The pipeline is buried on a hill near Ash Coulee creek, and the "hillside sloughed," which may have ruptured the line, she said.

"That is our No.1 theory but nothing is definitive" Owen said. "We have several working theories and the investigation is ongoing."

True Cos. has a history of oil field-related spills in North Dakota and Montana, including a January 2015 pipeline break into the Yellowstone River. The 32,000-gallon spill temporarily shut down water supplies in the downstream community of Glendive, Montana, after oil was detected in the city's water treatment system.

The 6-inch steel Belle Fourche Pipeline is mostly underground but was built above ground where it crosses Ash Coulee Creek, Suess said.

Owen said the pipeline was built in the 1980s and is used to gather oil from nearby oil wells to a collection point.

The company has hired Alberta, Canada-based SWAT Consulting Inc. that specializes in cold-weather oil spill cleanups, Suess said.

About 60 workers were on site Monday, and crews have been averaging about 100 yards daily in their cleanup efforts, he said. Some of the oil remains trapped beneath the frozen creek.

"It's going to take some time," Suess said of the cleanup. "Obviously there will be some component of the cleanup that will go toward spring."

True Cos. operates at least three pipeline companies with a combined 1,648 miles of line in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming, according to information the companies submitted to federal regulators. Since 2006, the companies have reported 36 spills totaling 320,000 gallons of petroleum products, most of which was never recovered.

Federal pipeline safety regulators initiated 19 enforcement activities against the three True pipeline companies since 2004. Those resulted in $537,500 in proposed penalties, of which the company paid $397,200, according to Department of Transportation records.

The potential for a pipeline leak that might taint drinking water is at the core of the disputed four-state, $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline, where thousands of people have been protesting its construction in southern North Dakota. That pipeline would cross the Missouri River. Dallas-based pipeline company Energy Transfer Partners says the Dakota Access pipeline would include safeguards such as leak detection equipment and that workers monitoring the pipeline remotely in Texas could close valves within three minutes if a breach is detected.

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.

Above is from:  http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/company-equipment-didnt-detect-north-dakota-oil-leak/ar-AAlt8L9?ocid=spartandhp

13 WREX viewers report Illinois Tollway phishing scam

 

By Audrey Moon

Posted: Dec 05, 2016 6:03 PM CST

ROCKFORD (WREX) -

Viewers have called in to the 13 WREX newsroom to warn about a scam that could happen to you. 
They say they received a call from someone claiming to be from the Illinois Tollway regarding their I-Pass accounts.
The scam caller said their I-Pass accounts needed to be refilled and updated. The caller continued, saying he could take care of the problem if our viewer provided updated credit card information.
According to the Illinois Tollway, this is a common phishing scam. They say the Tollway will not ask for credit card information or for you to make changes to your account information. 

Please see the correction from Illinois Tollway which is shown below

Above is from:  http://www.wrex.com/story/33917572/2016/12/05/viewers-report-illinois-tollway-phishing-scan

 

EMAIL FROM Illinois Tollway

I’m a communications manager at the Illinois Tollway and I wanted to contact you about the December 5 WREX TV story regarding the Tollway posted at BooneCountywatchdog.blogspot.com.

I spoke with the reporter after her story appeared to clarify that Tollway staff at times will call customers regarding their accounts, but takes steps to verify with the customer that the call is from the Tollway.

Phishing scams have occurred, so customers who receive calls or emails from the Tollway that they suspect may not be legitimate are encouraged to contact the Tollway directly at 1-800-UC-IPASS (800-824-7277).

I’d appreciate if you could clarify, edit or remove the WREX story from the blog to avoid giving your readers incorrect information.

Feel free to contact me if I can provide any additional information.

Thank you,

Dan Rozek

Sr. Manager of Communications

Illinois Tollway

WNIJ: In Depth Series on Great Lakes Basis RR

 

 

Listen to NPR Morning Edition every morning next week when the WNIJ news team brings you a new, in-depth series on the Great Lakes Basin Railroad.
The team examines its environmental impact on the region, the land acquisition process and the potential economic effects for "hub" cities near the proposed route from the perspective of concerned citizens and supporters of the line.
Tune in Monday morning for the first of five parts in the series entitled Down the Line: Great Lakes Basin Railroad. Our stories will air at 6:50 and 8:50 a.m. and will also be available at wnij.org. #GLBR