Yellowstone oil spills fuel arguments over Keystone line

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2015 file photo, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., listens at right as Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington where they discussed their plan to introduce legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project. Supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline say the privately-funded, $8 billion project is a critically needed piece of infrastructure that will create thousands of jobs and make the U.S. dependent on oil from friends, rather than foes. Critics claim it will be disastrous for the pollution blamed for global warming and put communities along its 1,179-mile route at risk for an environmentally-damaging spill, all for oil and products that will be exported anyway. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2015 file photo, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., listens at right as Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington where they discussed their plan to introduce legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project. Supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline say the privately-funded, $8 billion project is a critically needed piece of infrastructure that will create thousands of jobs and make the U.S. dependent on oil from friends, rather than foes. Critics claim it will be disastrous for the pollution blamed for global warming and put communities along its 1,179-mile route at risk for an environmentally-damaging spill, all for oil and products that will be exported anyway. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

By Associated Press January 29, 2015 1 min read

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Oil pipeline accidents have become increasingly frequent in the U.S. as Congress pushes for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.

An Associated Press review of government accident records shows their numbers growing each year since 2009, reversing a decade-long declining trend.

Keystone would pass near where 30,000 gallons of crude spilled into Montana’s Yellowstone River earlier this month.

The recent breach temporarily fouled a city’s water supply and became the latest in a string of spills to highlight ongoing problems with maintenance of the nation’s crude pipeline network.

Yet in the politically charged debate over Keystone, its detractors aren’t the only ones seizing on the Yellowstone spill.