Pipeline Oil Spill Under Investigation in NW Colorado

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Colorado environmental officials are still investigating an oil pipeline break earlier this month that spilled about 4,800 gallons in the northwest part of the state near the town of Rangely.

The oil flowed from a Chevron Corporation pipeline into a stream on public land in Rio Blanco County. It was described as a 6-inch pipeline and the oil traveled about 2 miles downstream along an unnamed tributary of Stinking Water Creek. The spill was finally stopped by a small dam that had been constructed as a preventive measure to contain such spills.

The break was discovered March 5 by a company consultant. The Environmental Protection Agency said the cause remains under investigation.