Approximately 150 barrels of brine water leaked from a pipeline at a disposal site, pipeline company Encore Energy Partners reported Wednesday.
Some of the brine water got into Blacktail Creek about 20 miles northwest of Belfield, but state Director of Water Quality Dennis Fewless said it now seems to be mostly contained by beaver dams and low-level crossings.
The spill is on U.S. Forest Service land, so the USFS, the health department and Encore are currently working to delineate the size of the spill. Encore has sent trucks and pumps to the site to remove the saltwater from the creek.
The leak is stopped and the pipeline is out of operation now, Fewless said.
“We want this brine water removed from Blacktail Creek,” he said.
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Division of Oil and Gas spokeswoman Maxine Herr said a cause of the pipeline rupture had not been determined yet.
