Steve Cohen: “While on this 4th of July most Americans were partaking in American pastimes like barbecuing and watching ball games…”

“While on this 4th of July most Americans were partaking in American pastimes like barbecuing and watching ball games, Montanans were immersed in a new American tradition, unfortunately, cleaning up an oil spill. In this case, Montanans were working, and are still working, feverishly to clean up a 40,000 gallon leak from ExxonMobil's Silvertip pipeline, a spill that's having a devastating impact on the residents, economy, and environment in the State of Montana. As written, this legislation opens the door for more destructive events like the Yellowstone spill. This is why I proposed a simple, zero-cost amendment that will resolve this issue and continue protecting the American people, its environment, our economy, our water system from the harmful effects of pipeline spills. The investigation into the Yellowstone spill has made it clear that the spill occurred because the pipeline was not buried deep enough below the streambed. Having only been buried 5 feet below the river, years of the Yellowstone River's powerful flow removed much of the sediment covering the pipeline to the point where the pipeline was directly exposed. Once exposed, the pipeline was weakened by the elements rapidly moving down the Yellowstone River. In order to bury a pipeline beneath a streambed, the company building the pipeline often has to rely upon and apply to the Corps of Engineers for a permit to dredge and fill.…”