Montana has experienced 461 oil and gas spills since 2015, according to a new factsheet by Environment Montana Research & Policy Center
These accidents have released a total of 6 million gallons of wastewater and 298,000 gallons of oil onto Montana land and waterways.
“The research is clear: when you drill, you spill,” said Skye Borden, state director at Environment Montana Research & Policy Center. “Our state’s oil and gas development comes with very real costs to our waterways, our wildlife, and our health.”
The majority of the spills were in eastern Montana, in an area known as the Williston Basin.