"Security guards working for Exxon Mobil Corp. have closely guarded access to the command post on the second floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Billings, where the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies also are stationed.... Exxon Mobil spokesman Alan Jeffers said the company was not in charge of the command post, a joint operation led by the US Environmental Protection Agency. “We do not run the unified command,’’ Jeffers said. “We are providing security services for the unified command, just like we are providing cleanup serves for the unified command.’’ ******** area residents and members of the media complained about a lack of access.... restrictions have been enforced at times by security contractors working for Exxon Mobil, who turned away reporters or blocked them from areas where cleanup work was going on."
Just like in the GULF!!!!!
"Montana complains of lack of public access over oil spill" by Matthew Brown, Associated Press / July 9, 2011
BILLINGS, Mont. - The state of Montana has cut its ties to a joint Exxon Mobil-government command post overseeing an oil spill in the Yellowstone River after the governor said the group was defying state open-government laws by denying public access.
The move underscores mounting tensions between the state and one of the world’s largest energy companies over its handling of the pipeline rupture that spewed an estimated 42,000 gallons of oil into the scenic river.
Meanwhile, US Representative Denny Rehberg of Montana said the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials will hold the first congressional hearing on the spill and on pipeline safety on Thursday.
Security guards working for Exxon Mobil Corp. have closely guarded access to the command post on the second floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Billings, where the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies also are stationed....
Governor Brian Schweitzer criticized Exxon Mobil for its response, pointing out discrepancies in the company’s reports of how long it took to shut down the pipeline and saying company officials were downplaying damage to wildlife.
They ALWAYS DO!
He spoke in front of a projected image of a toad sitting in what appeared to be oily marshland.
The governor also sent a letter to top Exxon Mobil officials requesting the company’s data on the type of crude oil that was in the pipeline, including the past three years of analysis on the oil’s viscosity, volatility, and toxicity.
Exxon Mobil spokesman Alan Jeffers said the company was not in charge of the command post, a joint operation led by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
“We do not run the unified command,’’ Jeffers said. “We are providing security services for the unified command, just like we are providing cleanup serves for the unified command.’’
Authorities in Yellowstone County also said they would ease travel restrictions near the spill site after some area residents and members of the media complained about a lack of access.
Those restrictions have been enforced at times by security contractors working for Exxon Mobil, who turned away reporters or blocked them from areas where cleanup work was going on....
--more--"
Related: Warming and Water Don't Mix
Coverage of the oil spill (and other environmental disasters) by the Globe this past week:
"Exxon cleaning up Yellowstone River" July 05, 2011|Associated Press
The break near Laurel has fouled miles of riverbank and forced municipalities and irrigation districts to close intakes across eastern Montana....
Exxon Mobil spokesman Alan Jeffers said there was no longer a defined slick of oil moving down the river and the impact was unlikely to grow.
“It’s unlikely there’s any oil in the water at this point,’’ Jeffers said. “That doesn’t mean we know where it all is.’’
Yeah, it just MAGICALLY DISAPPEARED like in the GULF!!
--more--"
If there is no oil in the water then....
"CLEANUP HURT BY FLOODS -- Cleanup crews cleared oil from along the Yellowstone River in Laurel, Mont., yesterday. The river swelled above flood levels yesterday, raising fears that the surge will push thousands of gallons of oil spilled from a broken pipeline into undamaged areas and prolong cleanup efforts as crude seeps downstream and into back channels (Boston Globe July 6 2011)."
But it is unlikely there is oil in the water.
Good thing I bought a printed paper, huh?
What a slick lie by the Exxon puke, 'eh?
Related: Man killed by grizzly at Yellowstone National Park
"SPLASH DOWN -- A helicopter dropped water near Carbon Canyon Road yesterday in Brea, Calif., where officials said more than 100 acres of brush has burned. Firefighters were contending with flare-ups near homes. The cause of the blaze is unknown (Boston Globe July 8 2011)."
Related: Los Alamos Fire Fading Out
Yeah, the fire and flood coverage sure has faded.
