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Cleanup underway after northern Oklahoma crude oil spill

Posted at 8:20 AM, Jan 31, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-31 09:20:57-05

ENID, Okla. (AP) -- Crews are working to contain thousands of gallons of crude oil that leaked into a creek in northern Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission spokesman Matt Skinner said Wednesday oil extends for about 5 miles (8 kilometers) in Black Bear Creek in rural Garfield County.

Skinner says the spill was reported Tuesday by Great Salt Plains Midstream of Oklahoma City, a pipeline operator. The oil apparently leaked from an open valve on a tank. Skinner says the cause is under investigation.

He says about 750 barrels, or 31,500 gallons (119,240 liters), leaked and that crews are "working around the clock" to remove the oil. Skinner says there's no threat to those people who live in the area.

A representative of Great Salt Plains Midstream didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

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