A pipeline carrying crude oil from tar sands in Canada ruptured Friday in the small Arkansas town of Mayflower, forcing the evacuation of 22 homes. The Pegasus pipeline, owned by Exxon, spilled almost 10,000 barrels of oil into a development, with the oil now sitting outside of homes and in wooded areas as emergency workers try to clean it up. This is the second spill of Canadian oil this week after a train carrying crude oil derailed on Wednesday, spilling 15,000 gallons of oil.
The video of the immediate aftermath of the spill is pretty amazing, showing the oil running into front yards and through the drainage system of the Arkansas subdivision:
Mayflower residents are growing frustrated with Exxon over when they will be able to move back into their homes:
"We're getting contradictory answer when we were initially evacuated we were told pack for two days it'll be cleaned up," said Darren Hale, a homeowner who was forced to evacuate. "Then we were told this morning to pack for at least a week."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has labeled the rupture as a "major spill."
[Photos and Video courtesy of KATV]