Unified Command Press Release as of 1200 – August 16

Cleanup teams reached an initial river cleanup end point at 136 miles downstream from the incident site, just below the confluence with the Bighorn River. As outlined in the Guidance for End Point and Treatment document, cleanup efforts on the river will wind down when 3 or fewer actionable asphalt areas are identified within a 10 mile stretch of river. In the current final 10 miles of cleanup, a single actionable asphalt area was observed, therefore meeting the wind down criteria. River operations also must be scaled down due to low water levels preventing safe boat access to cleanup areas.[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1200 – August 2

Cleanup teams have returned to areas immediately downstream from the site due to dropping water levels. They have been prioritizing collecting large pieces of actionable asphalt. Assessment teams have assessed 102.5 miles downriver; operations teams have reached river mile 98. As of Tuesday night, teams have collected approximately 215,000 pounds of asphalt material. All material collected by crews thus far has been collected by hand. Though a time consuming, laborious process, crews will continue prioritizing and maximizing cleanup efforts while limiting impacts to the environment. Safety remains a top priority; heat is dropping slightly and crews are continuing to take[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1300 – July 26

Cleanup teams are prioritizing collecting large pieces of actionable asphalt material. Receding water levels may expose previously undetectable asphalt material, especially closer to the site. Post-cleanup assessment teams will determine if some areas will need additional cleanup efforts. Five smaller boats were brought in to support the operation as river levels continue to drop. As of Tuesday night, teams have collected approximately 164,634 pounds of asphalt material. Cleanup crews have not yet stopped work due to triple digit temperatures but are focused on keeping teams safe. Unified Command is going out with assessment teams this week to determine how much[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1200 – July 19

Cleanup teams have relocated their base of operation from Holmgren Fishing Access Site outside of Columbus to Riverside Park in Laurel. Unified Command is working to open Holmgren to the public as quickly as possible; some cleanup resources will continue to be staged at Holmgren throughout the process. As of Tuesday night, teams have collected approximately 112,700 pounds of asphalt material. Riverside Park in Laurel is being used to launch boats for all on-river crews and as a staging area for asphalt material collection. Assessment teams have reviewed downstream to river mile 55. Five cleanup teams continue their efforts downstream[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1215 – July 15

Response teams continue daily river operations for asphalt material cleanup on the Yellowstone River. Most of the material has been found on river islands, and a few back channels and riverbanks. Operations will likely continue for weeks as efforts progress downriver. The cleanup operation involves a variety of crews. First is an assessment crew which scouts the river for actionable asphalt and maps the locations on the river. Actionable asphalt is defined as material that can be efficiently removed with less than 30% rock and sediment from land or can be collected in one piece from the water with no[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1200 – July 12

The collection of asphalt material continues to be top priority for cleanup crews. Cleanup start times have been shifted to earlier in the morning to maximize the collection of materials and to prevent heat and hydration related safety concerns for crews on the water. The crews have reported they are able to collect asphalt material more easily in the cooler temperatures and then shift their focus to debris collection, including railroad ties, later in the day as temperatures increase. As of Tuesday evening, over 80,000 pounds of material has been collected thus far. River and shoreline assessment crews have surveyed[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1200 – July 9

Cleanup crews continue expanding asphalt material collection efforts. Crews collected over 11,000 pounds of asphalt material as of Saturday night, bringing the cumulative total thus far to approximately 58,000 pounds. Heat and dehydration are becoming increasingly important safety concerns for cleanup crews as material collection is often physically demanding. Whitewater Rescue Institute (WRI) provided a safety boat near Reed Point during the Yellowstone Boat Float. WRI is leading the on-water recovery efforts for the derailment and recognized the need for a safety boat at this popular event to alert floaters to the downstream hazard at the active railroad bridge construction[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1230 – July 7

Cleanup crews continue expanding asphalt material collection efforts. Additional teams are onsite, bringing the total number of on water personnel to 150. As of Thursday night, approximately 35,000 pounds of asphalt material have been recovered. Typically at oil spills, not all material that enters the water is recoverable. This is why source control, in this case removing the rail cars with material still in them, was a high priority. Regardless of the amount spilled in the river, the priorities remain to remove as much material as feasible, reducing the physical risk to animals, and to minimize the impact of the[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1215 – July 6

Cleanup crews have continued expanding asphalt material collection efforts and additional cleanup teams are being brought onsite today and tomorrow. As of Wednesday night, over 23,000 pounds of asphalt material had been recovered. Cleanup efforts continue to focus on areas with the highest concentrations of asphalt material. Cleanup teams have been focused on the first four river miles downstream of the site. The assessment area extends 240 river miles downstream with the goal to cleanup as much asphalt material as retrievable, while limiting the impact to the ecosystem. An initial rapid assessment of observed asphalt material began on June 25th,[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1230 – July 5

Construction activity and preparation work continued Tuesday evening as bridge reconstruction efforts ramp up. Additional resources continue being brought on site to assist with bridge reconstruction. All impacted rail cars involved in the derailment have been moved to a dedicated staging area where they will be cleaned and processed for safe disposal. Environmental crews continued expanding cleanup and retrieval efforts of asphalt material, with additional resources deployed on the water. As of Tuesday evening, over 12,000 pounds of material has been recovered. Cleanup efforts continue to focus on areas of highest concentration, which have been identified at multiple points immediately[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1200 – July 4

Unified Command confirmed that all cars were removed from the eastern span of the bridge late Monday evening. All cars involved in the derailment have now been safely removed from the bridge and surrounding area. Additional construction to the causeway was performed and a crane pad was constructed. An additional crane will be brought onsite to remove the west bridge span and assist in other construction activities. Crews began initial work on bridge construction today. With no cars remaining, the asphalt source has been removed from the river, mitigating the threat of additional product release. Unified Command has now shifted[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1300 – July 3

Unified Command has confirmed that the last rail car in the river, containing sulfur, along with the bridge steel from the middle span was removed last evening. This morning, teams finished transferring the product from the three remaining asphalt cars on the eastern span of the bridge into stable rail cars. The rail cars with the transferred product will be relocated and staged at a location away from the site. Work to remove the now empty cars remaining on the eastern span of the bridge will continue throughout the day. “Our efforts have been focused on removing the rail cars[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1600 – July 2

The last rail car in the river, containing sulphur, and bridge steel are in the process of being removed. Three rail cars containing asphalt remain on the eastern side of the bridge. Work to transfer product from the first car to stable rail cars began this afternoon. Today notifications to agricultural irrigation ditch users began stating that they can open their irrigation canals which were advised to be closed as a safety precaution. Shoreline teams will monitor the irrigation ditches. “We reached a milestone today with the opening of agricultural ditches. This is imperative for the nearby ranches that rely[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1230 – July 1

Crews worked yesterday to move the asphalt car that had been resting on the eastern span of the bridge. To safely accomplish this, the car was lowered into the water before being moved to the west bank of the river for removal. While completing this work, there was an asphalt material release. Initial assessments indicate the release was minimal based on the amount of material believed to still be remaining in the impacted car. Crews were also able to remove one of the additional impacted molten sulfur cars from the river. As of this morning, the only two cars that[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1230 – June 30

Crews safely removed two additional asphalt cars from the river. In total, seven of the 10 cars that entered the river have been removed, including all six of the impacted asphalt cars. Efforts continue this morning to remove the two remaining molten sulfur cars and the car filled with scrap metal. Construction crews continue preparing the eastern side of the bridge to transfer asphalt product from three upright asphalt cars that did not enter the river to stable railcars.  There is a fourth asphalt car that is resting on the edge of the bridge that has not entered the water.[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1230 – June 29

Unified Command has confirmed that crews have safely removed three cars from the river since the last update at 1 p.m. yesterday. One asphalt car was removed late afternoon on Monday and an additional asphalt car and a sulfur car were removed this morning. At this time, a total of five cars have been removed from the river and five cars remain. The five cars remaining in the river include two asphalt cars, two sulfur cars, and a car filled with scrap metal. Construction to the causeway continues, enabling the crews on site to continue their work to access and[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1300 – June 28

Unified Command shared that crews safely removed a second asphalt car from the river Monday evening. Construction of a causeway continues this morning to improve access to the cars in the river. Additional site preparation work on the east side of the river will also improve access to the rail cars. Once this work is complete, crews will begin transferring the contents of the asphalt cars on the east side of the bridge, that have not entered the river, into stable railcars and moving them to a safe location. Representatives from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) have visited the[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1600 – June 27

Unified Command shared that crews have safely disassembled the west segment of the bridge (photo below). Riprap has been delivered to the site and is currently being utilized to construct a causeway, or stable path, which is anticipated to be completed later this evening. Once that work has been completed crews will focus on removing the remaining tank cars in the river. Communities on the BNSF Railway routes from Laurel to Shelby and Glendive to Snowden should expect increased rail traffic for the next several weeks because of the service interruption on the Montana Rail Link network. Affected counties include[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release as of 1000 – June 27

Unified Command announced today that crews were able to access and remove the first impacted car from the river. That car contained asphalt and has been safely transferred to a staging area. Work is underway this morning to begin disassembling the west segment of the bridge. This will allow better access for crews to assess and remove the remaining cars. Riprap is being brought on site this morning to construct a causeway, or a stable path, to assist car assessment and removal. Unified Command observed an ongoing release of asphalt material in the Yellowstone River and is determining next steps[.....] Read more

Unified Command Press Release – June 26

On Sunday evening and Monday morning, progress was made on the removal of railcars that have impacted the Yellowstone River and the Twin Bridges Railroad bridge in Stillwater County, Montana, however a lot of work remains. The contents of both railcars containing sodium hydrosulfide, that were located on the west side of the bridge, have been successfully transferred into stable railcars and moved to safety. Eight railcars on the eastern side of the bridge that did not reach the water have been removed. Five of these railcars contain asphalt and three contain fertilizer. Today, construction teams removed the cars containing[.....] Read more

Updated statement from MRL as of 1830 – June 25

Transloading of the sodium hydrosulfide car nearest the river has been completed successfully and the car will be re-railed and moved to a secure location. This process entails moving the contents from one rail car to another rail car or truck. We are aware of reports of globs of asphalt appearing down river that may be associated with the derailment and we will proactively investigate and sample this material. Water quality sampling is being performed by a contractor on behalf of Montana Rail Link with oversight by Montana DEQ and EPA. Preliminary results do not show petroleum hydrocarbons or sulfur[.....] Read more

Updated statement from MRL as of 0930 – June 25

Site work and remediation began Saturday evening and continues. Track repairs have been made enabling access to begin cleanup of the affected cars. Transloading of the sodium hydrosulfide car closest to the river is underway this morning. The car remains safely out of the water and there has been no release involving this material. We continue to closely monitor all releases involving molten sulfur and asphalt and mitigating any impacts to the site and surrounding area. Both of these substances harden and solidify quickly when interacting with water and modeling suggests that significant downstream movement of material is unlikely. Active[.....] Read more

Updated statement from MRL as of 1500 – June 24

Initial assessment indicates compromised rail cars contained molten sulfur and asphalt.  Both substances solidify rapidly when exposed to cooler temperatures. Two cars carrying sodium hydro sulfate are also included in the consist. Neither of these cars have entered the water and initial air quality assessments have been performed and confirmed that there is no release event associated with those two cars. The present focus of operations is safely responding to the emergency, controlling all releases and mitigating impacts.  Throughout the response MRL will work with local, state and federal partners to assess impacts to natural resources and to develop appropriate[.....] Read more

Initial statement from MRL – June 24

This morning, at approximately 6:45 a.m. MDT, a portion of a train traveling westbound near Reed Point derailed while traversing a bridge over the Yellowstone. The train crew is safe and no injuries have been reported. There are several cars in the river and the consist makeup did include several hazmat cars. The cause of the derailment is currently under investigation with MRL personnel and first responders onsite. DES and NRC have been notified. The safety of our employees and the public remains our top priority. We are committed to addressing any potential impacts to the area as a result[.....] Read more