North Dakota, Feds sue pipeline operator over 2016 Billings County oil spill

(Bismarck, ND)  --  The state of North Dakota and the federal government are suing a pipeline operator over a 2016 Billings County oil spill.

Federal officials filed a suit against Belle Fourche Pipeline this week regarding a 600-thousand-gallon oil spill that contaminated the Little Missouri River and tributary. Bridger Pipeline is also named as a defendant in connection with a 2015 oil spill in eastern Montana that contaminated the Yellowstone River.

Officials are asking for civil penalties for the spills and nearly 100-thousand dollars to reimburse the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality for funds spent responding to the Belle Fourche spill.