HOUSTON (Reuters) - Cleanup crews have recovered about 1,250 barrels of the 3,100 barrels of oil that leaked into a North Dakota creek last week following a spill on the Belle Fourche Pipeline, a spokeswoman for the pipeline company said on Thursday.
A leak discovered on Dec. 5 spilled an estimated 4,200 barrels of oil from the 6-inch pipeline, which runs through North Dakota. About 1,100 barrels remain trapped in the soil, according to the North Dakota Department of Health.
A containment band has been set up in the Ash Coulee Creek, where the rest of the oil migrated, to keep it from entering the Little Missouri River.
True Companies, the pipeline owner, has deployed more than 130 personnel to the site to aid in the cleanup, company spokeswoman Wendy Owen said on Thursday by phone.
Crews are dealing with a "worse than normal windchill factor," which requires a heavier emphasis on keeping workers safe and warm, Owen said.
The North Dakota spill came after months of protests in the state against the Dakota Access Pipeline by Native American and environmental groups that worry a pipeline leak could contaminate water.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton; Editing by Peter Cooney)
