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January 21, 2015

Pipeline breach located beneath Montana's Yellowstone River

byMatthew Brown

Pipeline breach located beneath Montana's Yellowstone River
Cesar Rodriguez, left, hands a case of bottled drinking water to Whitney Schipman of Glendive, Mont., on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015. Officials said benzene levels were too low to pose a short-term health risk but they warned the city's residents against drinking tap water out of precaution. Elevated levels of benzene were found in water samples taken from a treatment plant that serves about 6,000 people in the agricultural community of Glendive near the North Dakota border. The contamination followed a 50,000 gallon oil spill that found its way from a break in a Bridger Pipeline's 12-inch pipeline into the Yellowstone River. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

A company responsible for a Montana oil pipeline spill says the breach in the line has been located directly beneath the Yellowstone River.

Up to 50,000 gallons of crude were released in the .

Bridger Pipeline spokesman Bill Salvin said Tuesday a mechanical inspection of the damaged line revealed a about 50 feet from the river's south shore.

Salvin says bubbles were seen rising to the river's surface after nitrogen was pumped into the line as part of the inspection.

Officials previously didn't know whether the spill happened beneath the iced-over river or somewhere on the riverbank.

The cause remains undetermined.

The spill occurred Saturday about 5 miles upstream of Glendive. Residents are stocking up on after a cancer-causing oil component was detected in public water supplies.

  • Pipeline breach located beneath Montana's Yellowstone River
    Residents line up to receive drinking water from a distribution center, Tuesday, January 20, 2015, in Glendive, Mont. A cancer-causing component of oil has been detected in the Glendive drinking water supply, just downstream from a crude oil spill that entered the Yellowstone River. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
  • Pipeline breach located beneath Montana's Yellowstone River
    Adrian Vargas, left, and Santiago Medina push a pallet loaded with drinking water into the back of a pickup truck, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, in Glendive, Mont. A cancer-causing component of oil has been detected in the Glendive drinking water supply, just downstream from a crude oil spill that entered the Yellowstone River. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
  • Pipeline breach located beneath Montana's Yellowstone River
    Adrian Vargas, left, Santiago Medina and Rodrigo Salas prepare cases of water for distribution to residents in Glendive, Mont., Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015. A cancer-causing component of oil has been detected in the Glendive drinking water supply, just downstream from a crude oil spill that entered the Yellowstone River. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
  • Pipeline breach located beneath Montana's Yellowstone River
    Bob Sarver and his wife, Melvina, load water into their car trunk, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, in Glendive, Mont. A cancer-causing component of oil has been detected in the Glendive drinking water supply, just downstream from a crude oil spill that entered the Yellowstone River. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
  • Pipeline breach located beneath Montana's Yellowstone River
    Eric Held carries water to his vehicle at a public distribution center, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, in Glendive, Mont. A cancer-causing component of oil has been detected in the Glendive drinking water supply, just downstream from a crude oil spill that entered the Yellowstone River. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
  • Pipeline breach located beneath Montana's Yellowstone River
    Javier Garcia, with Bridger Pipeline, transports a pallet of drinking water, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, in Glendive, Mont. A cancer-causing component of oil has been detected in the Glendive drinking water supply, just downstream from a crude oil spill that entered the Yellowstone River. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
  • Pipeline breach located beneath Montana's Yellowstone River
    Crews work to contain an oil spill from Bridger Pipeline's broken pipeline near Glendive, Mont., in this aerial view showing both sides of the river on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015. Officials said that they were bringing truckloads of drinking water to Glendive after traces of 50,000 gallons of oil that spilled into the Yellowstone River were found in the city's water supply. (AP Photo/The Billings Gazette, Larry Mayer)
  • Pipeline breach located beneath Montana's Yellowstone River
    Crews work to contain an oil spill from Bridger Pipeline's broken pipeline near Glendive, Mont. in this aerial view on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015. Officials said that they were bringing truckloads of drinking water to Glendive after traces of 50,000 gallons of oil that spilled into the Yellowstone River were found in the city's water supply. (AP Photo/The Billings Gazette, Larry Mayer)

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