Petroleum asphalt remains in Yellowstone River, even after cleanup from train derailment

By MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press

REED POINT, Mont. (AP) — Two months after a railroad bridge collapse sent carloads of hazardous oil products plunging into Montana’s Yellowstone River, the cleanup workers are gone and a mess remains. Thick mats of tarry asphalt still cover portions of sandbars following the June 24 spill. It happened along a stretch of the Yellowstone relied upon by farmers to irrigate crops and that is popular among anglers and recreationists. Almost half the 48,000 gallons of asphalt that spilled has not been recovered from a spill that stretches more than 125 miles down the river. Officials say falling water levels are making it hard to remove the asphalt efficiently and without further environmental damage.