Jan 23, 2015 - 50,000 gallons of oil spills into the Yellowstone River

Last week, a second major oil spill leaked into the Yellowstone River in Montana. The Poplar pipeline, owned by Bridger Pipeline LLC, ruptured upstream from Glendive, MT leaking as much as an estimated 40-50,000 gallons of crude oil into the Yellowstone River.

The massive oil leak led Montana Gov. Steve Bullock to announce a state of emergency for Dawson and Richland counties. Residents in nearby towns and cities have been asked to not drink tap water. Some residents have stated their tap water smelled like diesel.

The Poplar pipeline transports 42,000 barrels a day of crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken region.

The spill comes just 4-years after an Exxon Mobil pipeline ruptured spilling over 40,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River in 2011.

The spill also comes after the newly elected Republican controlled Congress is pushing for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. If built, the Keystone XL would carry tar sands crude from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico.