The Montana Oil Pipeline Safety Review Council has completed its final report. The report was presented to Governor Brian Schweitzer on November 27, 2012.
The report is the culmination of the work of the Oil Pipeline Safety Review Council, created by the Governor in the wake of the ExxonMobil Silvertip oil spill in July 2011. The purpose of the Council was to review all available information for each pipeline river crossing in Montana to assess the risk of ruptures and leaks. The Governor asked the Council to evaluate the regulatory framework for pipelines and to identify any regulatory gaps that might exist. The Council was also asked to make recommendations to prevent future failures.
The report describes a new, interactive Montana Pipeline Safety Map created through a cooperative agreement with the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and with the assistance of pipeline operators. The map contains numerous layers of information including aerial photos, topographic maps, property boundaries and ownership, as well as locations of environmental interest like monitoring stations and wells.
The report also contains six recommendations designed to reduce the chances of future pipeline breaks that could spill products into Montana’s waterways. It is available on the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) website at http://www.deq.mt.gov.
The members of the Oil Pipeline Safety Review Council were the Directors of the Montana Department of Transportation, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.
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