Senate Majority Leader Matt Rosendale of Glendive says the public should have more information about the pipelines that cross Montana’s navigable rivers. A unanimous Senate agrees.
Senator Matt Rosendale of Glendive says he wanted to find out more about pipelines after crude oil poured into the Yellowstone River last month. It was the second time this happened since 2011.
"I went and tried to find some information what pipelines were crossing our rivers, what they were transporting through our pipelines and some basic information like that and what I discovered was the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is the agency that actually governs it and they don’t provide anything."
So Senate Bill 368 would require the Department of Environmental Quality to compile information on a number of pipelines. This includes the pipeline’s size, what’s being transported, the navigable rivers intersected or crossed by that pipeline, and the distance between shut-off valves.
Rosendale says he hopes eventually the website will also include information about pipeline inspections and the condition of the pipeline.
The Senate gave preliminary approval to the bill on a 50-to-zero vote.