Title:
Oil Spill in US Puts Attention on Pipelines,
Waterways
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
In early July, an oil pipeline broke under the
Yellowstone River in the western state of Montana.
The Yellowstone is America's longest undammed river.
The spill happened downstream from Yellowstone
National Park. The burst pipe spilled as much as one
thousand barrels of crude oil -- more than one
hundred sixty thousand liters -- into the river.
Workers shut off the Exxon Mobil pipeline, and the
company continued to clean up the spill. But the
river was at flood levels and flowing quickly,
carrying oil downstream into wetlands, fields and
yards. Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Claire Hassett said
local officials had ordered a temporary shutdown of
the pipeline in May to check on its condition. They
were concerned with heavy rains and rising waters.
But, she said, "we determined that it was safe to
operate and ... we don't know what has caused this
leak."Susan Casey-Lefkowitz is with the Natural
Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.
She says the spill shows the dangers of mixing
pipelines and waterways, "especially when they are
running under some of our most precious river
systems that are important not just for wildlife,
but also for our communities. The Yellowstone River
is critical for irrigation, for example, and so it
serves the needs of a lot of farmers and communities
along its path."Andy Black heads the Association of
Oil Pipe Lines, an industry group whose members
include pipeline owners and operators. He says, "We
have processes both within companies and at the
associations to share learning and best practices
and pursue the goal which is zero accidents."Mr.
Black says the industry does not need more federal
and state rules. "The regulations cover the major
causes of pipeline failures, and we do not see any
gaps." Susan Casey-Lefkowitz disagrees. One concern,
she says, is the future of the Ogallala aquifer, a
major source of water for America's central plains.
A proposed pipeline called Keystone XL would cross
the Ogallala to carry oil produced from tar sands in
Canada for processing in Texas. Ms. Casey-Lefkowitz
says, "Ironically it would actually cross the
Yellowstone River where the spill just happened."
For VOA Special English, I'm Mario Ritter. For more
programs and activities for learning English, go to
voaspecialenglish.com.
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personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
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