BISMARCK, N.D. — When a pipeline rupture sent more than 20,000 barrels of crude spewing across a North Dakota wheat field, it took nearly two weeks for officials to tell the public about it. BISMARCK, N.D. — When a pipeline
BISMARCK, N.D. — When a pipeline rupture sent more than 20,000 barrels of crude spewing across a North Dakota wheat field, it took nearly two weeks for officials to tell the public about it.
The break in a Tesoro Corp. pipeline happened in a remote area, and officials said no water was contaminated or wildlife hurt. But environmentalists are skeptical and said it’s an example of a boom industry operating too cozily with state regulators.
“It shows an attitude of our current state government and what they think of the public,” said Don Morrison, executive director of the Dakota Resource Council, an environmental-minded landowner group with more than 700 members in North Dakota. “It’s definitely worrisome. There is a pattern in current state government to not involve the public.”
The North Dakota Health Department was told about the spill Sept. 29, after a farmer whose combine’s tires were coated in crude discovered oil spewing from the ground. Although the state initially thought just 750 barrels of oil was involved, it turned out to be one of the largest spills in North Dakota history — an estimated 20,600 barrels over 7.3 acres of land.
The department said because the spill initially was believed to be small was one reason the agency didn’t make a public announcement for 11 days.
Kris Roberts, an environmental geologist with the health department, said while companies must notify the state of spills, it doesn’t have to release the information. That’s not unusual in major oil-producing states: Alaska and Oklahoma also do not require public disclosure. North Dakota is America’s No. 2 oil producer.
But the public is often told about spills, particularly if oil gets into a waterway or otherwise threatens the environment.
