North Dakota oil spill raises questions about safety

Max Yamame, from San Antonio, Texas, is dressed to perform a dance on Capitol Hill in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, during a demonstration to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline. A federal court battle over whether the developer of the pipeline can finish the $3.8 billion project will linger at least into the first couple months of the new year. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Max Yamame, from San Antonio, Texas, is dressed to perform a dance on Capitol Hill in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, during a demonstration to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline. A federal court battle over whether the developer of the pipeline can finish the $3.8 billion project will linger at least into the first couple months of the new year. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

By Associated Press December 14, 2016 4 min read

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The discovery of an oil pipeline spill earlier this month in western North Dakota has drawn heightened attention because of the battle over the Dakota Access oil pipeline being built across the state. While the spill was on a different pipeline, the Standing Rock Sioux and its supporters say a spill on the Dakota Access pipeline could threaten the tribe’s drinking water, which is drawn from the Missouri River.

The developer of the Dakota Access project, Energy Transfer Partners, and the Army are battling in court over permission for the pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir in southern North Dakota. It’s the last large chunk of construction for the $3.8 billion project to move North Dakota oil 1,200 miles to a shipping point at Patoka, Illinois.

Here are some questions and answers about the spill on the Belle Fourche Pipeline:

___

HOW BIG WAS THE SPILL?