Arkansas AG to investigate oil pipeline leak

Source: CNN.com

(CNN) -- Arkansas is opening an investigation into what caused last week's pipeline rupture that allowed thousands of barrels of heavy crude oil to flow into a community in the middle of the state.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Tuesday he asked Exxon Mobil, the owner of the 60-year-old Pegasus pipeline, to preserve all documents and information related to the spill and cleanup efforts.

"This incident has damaged private property and Arkansas's natural resources. Homeowners have been forced from their homes as a result of this spill," McDaniel said in a news release Tuesday. "Requesting that Exxon secure these documents and data is the first step in determining what happened and preserving evidence for any future litigation."

About two dozen homes in Mayflower, Arkansas, were evacuated last week as the crude oil, which originated in Canada and was bound for Gulf Coast refineries, crawled through yards and down streets. The evacuation could last for several more days as crews work to clean the spill.

The oil began spilling Friday from a 2- or 3-inch gash in the Pegasus pipeline, which carries Canadian crude from Illinois to Texas, a state transportation engineer said.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/02/us/arkansas-pipeline-spill/index.html?hpt=hp_t1