BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) Authorities say the struggle to recover 30,000 gallons of oil from a pipeline spill into Montana's Yellowstone River could grind to a near-halt in coming days.
Warmer weather has made the ice on the river increasingly dangerous. That means crews trying to recover oil trapped beneath the ice will soon be pulled off.
Bridger Pipeline LLC spokesman Bill Salvin said Wednesday that any oil that washes up along the riverbank still could be cleaned up.
The 12-inch pipeline broke Jan. 17 near Glendive after a section of the line became exposed beneath the river for undetermined reasons.
It was the second oil spill into the Yellowstone since 2011.
Montana Department of Environmental Quality Director Tom Livers says the latest accident shows periodic company surveys of pipeline river crossings remain inadequate.