LITTLE ROCK / HOUSTON - Arkansas on Tuesday launched an investigation into an Exxon Mobil pipeline rupture that spilled thousands of barrels of crude oil into a housing development last week, just as forecast rain was expected to complicate the clean-up.
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel asked Exxon to preserve all documents and information related to Friday's spill and ongoing recovery at the site in Mayflower, Ark., about 20 miles northeast of Little Rock.
"This incident has damaged private property and Arkansas's natural resources. Homeowners have been forced from their homes," McDaniel said in a statement. Asking Exxon to secure the documents is the "first step in determining what happened and preserving evidence for any future litigation," he said.
Of course, the homeowners in the area that has been evacuated DIDN'T KNOW that there was pipeline right down the middle of their street. Furthermore, when it broke and the sludge started filling the streets and covering the local wildlife, Exxon sent in reps to tell them, "Don't worry...It's the 'light-sweet' stuff that's easy to clean up." In point of fact, it is the heavy tar-sands crap that sinks to the bottom and can't be skimmed...And more to the point it's the same crap they want to push through the Keystone/XL pipeline...
"Nothing to see here folks...Move along....We're from Exxon....and we're here to help you...."
Oh, and the House Rep for the district this little disaster is in?... Tim Griffin (R-AR)....He's a TeaPublican who has supported the Keystone pipeline 100%... I would love to hear him tell all those evacuated homeowners how "safe" the Keystone project is, and how it's "worth it"...
