A US Senate committee has approved a measure that requires federal transportation officials to report on the safety of pipelines that cross beneath rivers following two major oil spills into the Yellowstone River.
Montana Senators Jon Tester, a Democrat, and Steve Daines, a Republican, co-sponsored the amendment.
It directs the agency to report on how monitoring during floods is being used to prevent pipeline accidents at river crossings.
The riverbed of the Yellowstone can shift significantly during periods of high water, leaving pipelines that carry oil and other hazardous liquids exposed and increasing the risk of a rupture.
Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner
Sources: Washington Times, The Montana Standard