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Two weeks ago, the Silvertip pipeline inexplicably ruptured, spilling up to 1,000 barrels of crude in the Yellowstone River. In the days that followed, scores of landowners who own property on the Yellowstone wondered whether its oil-stained banks could ever be restored.

We wondered whether the company responsible for it would shirk its responsibility, or step up to the plate.

While it may take months to fully answer that question, much of it already has been. In an era when so many corporations seek to avoid responsibility, ExxonMobil is demonstrating a level of accountability that is deserving of recognition and emulation. At this point, it appears that the pipeline rupture was the result of the (more…)

The Dawson and Wibaux County Farm Bureau held their annual picnic at the Jaycee West Park in Glendive Sunday July 10, 2011. The members and officers were delighted to have a perfect summer day for the event. They were able to mix an afternoon of pleasure with some business as several reports were given from local elected officials.

     After enjoying a pleasant cook-out with Bernard Evans at the grill, bureau president Gene Evans introduced Dawson County Commissioner Jim Skillestad for the first update. Skillestad shared with the membership the progress that the county was making in reference to repairs on damaged roads from this years flooding. In meetings that the commissioners had with FEMA, the cost for repairs were estimated at $ 2 million. The commissioners felt that this was (more…)

Shoreline teams move downriver, cleanup and sampling continue along the Yellowstone River in Billings, MT

The U.S. EPA continues to oversee the response to the ExxonMobil spill on the Yellowstone River. Today, Shoreline Cleanup & Assessment Technique (SCAT) teams continue to carefully assess and clean up the most heavily affected areas of the spill and comb the riverbanks. A total of seven SCAT teams are now working along the shores of the Yellowstone River.
“We’re focusing our efforts on vegetation and shoreline cleanup,” said Steve Merritt, EPA On-Scene Coordinator. “Our SCAT teams are evaluating every section of accessible shoreline to direct cleanup operations and make sure we don’t do more harm than good in these actions.”
Cleanup methods will vary depending on how much oil is present at a location, and SCAT teams will work to ensure a proper balance between cleanup and minimizing further impacts to ecosystems. To better allocate ground resources, the affected areas of the river have been further subdivided. Zones A and B remain the same. Zone C now ends at Yellowstone County line instead of Miles City. Zones D through H correspond with county lines moving east to Glendive, MT. (more…)

It seems like every time I turn around there is something added to the third weekend in July here in Billings. This is good for the merchants of Billings I’m sure. Let’s see, the obvious thing that comes to mind is SummerFair, the Yellowstone Art Museum fling, this year at Veteran’s Park, suggesting a smaller affair than in the past. Still, it usually has some fairly high-class vendors;

and then there is the Big Sky State Games, which have actually been going on since last weekend and come to a climax on this coming weekend.

A new addition to the line-up this year is (more…)

Borrowed from Netright Daily