Use of dispersants on the Yellowstone River?

Oil dispersant and a sheen are seen on top of the water in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.  AP Photo/The Houma Courier, Matt Stamey

Gov. Brian Schweitzer just sent another letter to ExxonMobil officials asking for more information about last Friday’s oil spill on the Yellowstone River, and in it he requests information about the use of dispersants used to clean up the oil.

Schweitzer addressed the letter to ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson (whom CNN Money ranked #6 on its “25 most powerful people in business” list) and ExxonMobil president of refining and supply Sherman Glass.

According to the letter, Schweitzer wants to know exactly what’s in the estimated 44,000 gallons of oil that leaked into the river one week ago:

“It is imperative that the State of Montana receive all the background documentation on the type of crude oil that was in the ruptured Silvertip Pipeline. I am asking that you provide the last three years of data analysis that ExxonMobile (sic) possesses on the type of crude oil in that pipeline. This includes the viscosity, volatility, and toxicity analysis. Also, please provide any test data that the company possesses for the most effective dispersant for the crude oil that has spilled into the Yellowstone River and the recommended volume of dispersant for that spill.”

The thing that stood out from the letter was this line:

“…please provide any test data that the company possesses for the most effective dispersant for the crude oil that has spilled into the Yellowstone River and the recommended volume of dispersant for that spill.”

Most Americans first learned about the use of dispersants during the catastrophic BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. These are the chemicals oil companies use to break up and “clean” oil from the surface of the water.

At one point, according to ProPublica,  BP bought-up nearly one-third of the world’s supply of dispersants and began pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of the chemicals onto the surface of the Gulf—and thousands of feet beneath it— in an effort to break up the steady flow of oil from the ocean floor.

As we all soon learned, dispersants have their own environmental and health problems that in some cases could be worse than the oil itself:

From ProPublica:

“There is a chemical toxicity to the dispersant compound that in many ways is worse than oil,” said Richard Charter, a foremost expert on marine biology and oil spills who is a senior policy advisor for Marine Programs for Defenders of Wildlife and is chairman of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council. “It’s a trade-off – you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t -- of trying to minimize the damage coming to shore, but in so doing you may be more seriously damaging the ecosystem offshore.”

That’s because dispersants themselves contain unknown toxins. We don’t know what those toxins are because the companies that make them claim their make-up is a “trade secret.”

And the risk isn’t just to the environment. As the New York Times reported, oil clean-up workers exposed to dispersants in the Gulf soon began exhibiting health problems:

“…seven crew members aboard fishing vessels who had been working to clean up Breton Sound, southeast of New Orleans, blamed the chemicals for health complaints including nausea, shortness of breath and high blood pressure.”

According to this report on the Gulf Oil Spill Health Hazards:

“The combination of detergent and hydrocarbons ingredients in dispersants with chemicals in crude oil is especially hazardous if someone inhales contaminated water spray.  The dispersant-oil complex in micelles can coat lung surfaces causing lipoid pneumonia, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, asthma and other serious health problems.” 

Read the report at the link above for more more detailed information on the hazards.

As far as Schweitzer’s request for any “test data,” I doubt ExxonMobil will be all that forthcoming with the information. After all, environmental groups who sued nearly a year ago to try to find out what was in the dispersants being pumped into the Gulf of Mexico are still in federal court.

BREAKING: State pulling out of oil spill command team

Gov. Brian Schweitzer tours oil impacted sites along side the Yellowstone River in Laurel, Mont., Tuesday July 5, 2011. AP Photo by Jim Urquhart.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Thursday said the state is pulling out of the unified command team overseeing the cleanup of oil from a ruptured ExxonMobil pipeline that leaked an estimated 1,000 barrels of crude oil into the Yellowstone River late last Friday.

Schweitzer accused ExxonMobil officials of not being transparent about the extent of the oil spill and the resulting cleanup effort.

"We're actually pulling out of the incident command with ExxonMobil because they are refusing to be transparent with the public," Schweitzer said in an interview Thursday. "They have security guards that don't let the press in. They're telling our Department of Environmental Quality officials that the documents that we're sharing are not public documents, and I have said we will not be involved in an organization like that so we're pulling out."

ExxonMobil spokesman Pius Rolheiser said the company had not been notified of any changes to the unified command.

"We at the incident command have had no indication to this point that we should expect any change in the incident command structure," Rolheiser said. "Certainly none that I'm aware of and I'm at the command center."

Rolheiser said state DEQ officials were working at the incident comment center in Billings as of 2:30 Thursday afternoon.

Matthew Allen, a spokesman for EPA, said the agency was unaware that the state intended to pull out of the incident command team and declined to respond.

Schweitzer expressed frustration with ExxonMobil's response to the spill and the concerns of residents and landowners along the affected stretches of waterway. He said the state opened its own incident response office at the Montana Department of Transportation office in Billings to respond more effectively to citizens concerns.

Rolheiser said the company had made every effort to be transparent and to work as closely as possible with state and federal agencies.

"Our top priority has been to identity where the oil is, managing it and cleaning it up and managing impacts," Rolheiser said. "We have stated emphatically — including at the community meetings in Billings (Wednesday) night — that we will be there until that cleanup is complete, and the cleanup will be complete when the state of Montana says it's complete."

Schweitzer said officials with the state Department of Environmental Quality, along with state agriculture officials, will hold a meeting Friday morning to provide guidance to landowners on how to collect their own samples and submit them for testing.

"We're not in the business of submitting samples to ExxonMobil and asking their opinion," Schweitzer said. "We'll submit these samples to third party laboratories and what we'll submit to ExxonMobil is the bill."

Late Wednesday Schweitzer sent a strongly worded letter to Sherman Glass, ExxonMobil's president of refining and supply, demanding that the company preserve any possible evidence related to the ruptured pipeline in case of future litigation. Schweitzer also insisted that officials from both the state DEQ and the Environmental Protection Agency be on hand to observe any work the company does to replace the pipeline.

Rolheiser said he was unaware of the letter and declined to comment.

Schweitzer on Thursday sent a letter to Cynthia Quarterman, administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, requesting records related to ExxonMobil’s Silvertip Pipeline dating back to 2006, including but not limited to “correspondence, notes, memoranda, reports, inspections, maps, charts, and all other documents…”

Schweitzer also requested records related to “complaints, regulatory violations, corrective actions, remedial actions, or concerns about any pipeline located in whole or in part in Montana….” 

UPDATE: Schweitzer’s office launched a new website with information about the Yellowstone River Oil Spill. Here’s the link.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Wanzenried drops bid for governor

I just received an e-mail press release from state Sen. Dave Wanzenried, D-Missoula, state that he intends to discontinue his gubernatorial campaign.

Wanzenried said he didn’t meet fundraising goals for the first two quarters of campaign reporting period.

“Before filing paperwork required to begin raising money last November, I set some very ambitious goals in order to run the type of campaign Montanans expect and deserve,” he said.

“For a variety of reasons, through the first two reporting periods, those goals have not been met. I simply have not attracted enough investors to wage a viable a statewide campaign.”

Wanzenried said his most important job is “to continue to work hard to serve and listen to my constituents in Senate District 49.”

Could Wanzenried’s decision be tied to potential gubernatorial candidate and fellow Democrat Attorney General Steve Bullock’s rumored intentions to run for the office?

Wanzenried said in his statement:

"Steve Bullock is a long-time friend -- he has the skills to lead our state, preserve our budget surplus and create jobs. I've encouraged him to run for Governor and pledged to support him if he does."

A recent Public Policy Poll indicated that Bullock would be the clear frontrunner in a hypothetical six-way Democratic primary if he chose to run for the office. Bullock lead his nearest opponent, Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger, 40-27, although neither men have announced plans to run.

So far Bullock has been tight lipped about his intentions for 2012, but speculation that he will seek the seat vacated by Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer continues to mount. Bohlinger has also indicated that he’s considering running for the office.

On the Republican side, the PPP poll showed former Congressman Rick Hill with a solid lead over his potential opponents in a hypothetical seven-way primary contest. Hill lead nearest opponent Neil Livingstone, a cable TV pundit and terrorism expert, by a margin of 35-15.

Schweitzer to open oil spill office in Billings

Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced today that he will open an office in Billings Thursday to help citizens who have comments, questions or concerns regarding the oil spill.  Schweitzer will host a public meeting there Friday.

According to a statement released by the governor’s office Wednesday afternoon, the Billings office will be staffed daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. by someone who will collect information from citizens and help get answers to their questions or concerns.

Citizens can also call the office at (406) 657-0231 beginning tomorrow. Schweitzer will be in the office for part of the day on Friday.

Schweitzer said state agencies will be holding a public meeting at 10:00 a.m. on July 8.

The office is located at 424 Morey Street in the Montana Department of Transportation Billings District Office.

AUDIO: ExxonMobil executives address the media

Exxon Mobil Pipeline Co. president Gary Pruessing holds a news conference on Monday July 4,2011, at a house along the Yellowstone River near Laurel, Mont. where the yard has been fouled by oil. An estimated 1,000 barrels of oil spilled from a ruptured pipeline underneath the river. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Gary Pruessing, president of ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, addressed the media on the company's response to the Yellowstone River oil spill Tuesday afternoon. I’ve posted the audio below in two parts.

I apologize for the break, but my recorder died during the conference call and I had to switch to a backup recorder. There’s about a 5-10 second break. I also apologize for the low volume on the first clip. You’ll want to turn up the volume on your computer for the first part, and then be sure to turn it down again for the second. I’ve also included download links here: Part 1, Part 2.

Part 1

Part 2:

Revisiting last summer’s pipeline safety meeting

In doing some research on the oil spill disaster on the Yellowstone River, I dug this article out of the Tribune archives. I don’t have the ability to link to it since it was archived, but I thought it would be useful to post the complete story here given what’s happening on the Yellowstone River.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Schweitzer: State's oil wells have safeguards

HELENA - With millions of gallons of oil continuing to pour into the Gulf of Mexico, Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Tuesday convened a meeting with state officials to analyze the state's capacity to respond to a catastrophic oil spill in Montana.

Schweitzer met with top officials from the state Board of Oil and Gas Conservation, Department of Environmental Quality, Disaster and Emergency Services and Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to find out what the state is doing to ensure a major spill doesn't happen. He also asked what response plans are in place if a worst-case scenario should occur.

"After church and at the bar, and in coffee shops people are watching what's happening in the Gulf and they're wondering if that could happen in Montana," Schweitzer said.

According to Tom Richmond, administrator for the Board of Oil and Gas Conservation, the well that's gushing oil into the Gulf is about 100 times bigger than even the largest wells in Montana. Richmond said all of Montana's oil wells combined don't produce as much oil per day as what's flowing into the Gulf of Mexico daily.

"Montana has a complex geologic environment, and some of that environment actually helps reduce our risk," Richmond said.

He said most of Montana's oil reservoirs are low-pressure, making the possibility of a catastrophic oil well blowout unlikely. In addition, multiple safeguards are in place at every well to prevent blowouts or contain spills if they occur, Richmond said.

The most likely cause of a worst-case scenario spill would come from oil pipelines, state officials said. If a pipeline were to leak near a body of water such as the Yellowstone River, which flows through the heart of oil and gas country in eastern Montana, all bets are off.

Schweitzer said pipeline officials recently told him that safeguards were in place to ensure that leaks would be found quickly and that there is little danger to Montana's waterways. However, Schweitzer pointed to a recent incident in Utah where a leaking pipeline spilled an estimated 33,000 gallons of crude oil into a creek that flows into the Great Salt Lake.

"How did that happen?" Schweitzer asked.

DEQ Director Richard Opper said there are more stringent standards and requirements in place for newer pipelines, which make it easier for companies to detect and stop leaks before they create major problems.

"I think the ability to detect a leak in a newer pipeline is much, much greater than what we've seen in the past," Opper said. "Does that mean we can avert all disasters? No, not necessarily, but it does mean the shut off would occur more quickly than in an older pipeline."

Opper said he hopes that if there ever is a leak from a pipeline in Montana that the oil doesn't get into state waterways.

"If you keep it out of the water, it's a whole lot easier to clean up," Opper said. "It really ups the ante for cleanup if it manages to reach water."

Unlike mining companies in the state, oil producers and oil pipeline companies aren't required to post cleanup bonds to cover the cost of environmental disasters should a spill occur.

Schweitzer said after the meeting that he's going to look at the possibility of introducing legislation in the next session to require oil and gas companies to post a bond to ensure the state doesn't get stuck with cleanup costs.

"It's certainly something we're going to look it," Schweitzer said. "When the answer comes to me that it's the financial integrity of the company we're depending on, well companies come and go, but the Yellowstone River has been the same for the last 25,000 years or so," Schweitzer said. "We want to have some certainty that Montanans aren't stuck with cleanup."

Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. is hoping to start construction soon on the 1,980-mile Keystone XL pipeline, part of a $12 billion investment to move crude extracted from Canada's oil sands to refineries in the United States. That pipeline would go through Montana.

Opper said he has investigated allegations that the company is not using a thick enough material for its pipe. He said he found that the company plans to use a stronger but slightly thinner material that will be sturdy enough for the job.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.