BISMARCK — An alarm failure caused more than 33,000 gallons of highly concentrated salt water to spill Thursday, Jan. 20, on an oilfield site in Williams County.
Crescent Point Energy, a Canadian oil and gas company, informed the state of the the spill at a saltwater disposal well it operates northwest of Epping. The company reported that all of the fluid had been contained at the time of reporting.
Sometimes called produced water, brine is a highly concentrated salt water that comes up in large volumes alongside oil and gas in the Bakken. Typically, the waste stream is injected back into the earth through designated disposal wells.
An inspector from the state Oil and Gas Division has visited the site and will monitor additional clean-up, according to a Friday news release.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Adam Willis, a Report for America corps member, at awillis@forumcomm.com.
