Approximately 14 miles of Little Beaver Creek, a tributary of the Little Missouri River, has been impacted by an unknown amount of oil emulsion resulting from a pipeline leak. The spill was discovered last Saturday about five miles southwest of Marmarth.

According to a release from the North Dakota Department of Health an estimated 18 barrels of crude oil and seven barrels of brine leaked from a buried three-inch pipeline operated by Continental Resources. Oil emulsion is a mixture of crude oil and brine produced from a well.

The Red River Formation oil has a thicker consistency than Bakken crude, says the DOH, and therefore will make for a quicker cleanup than spills that have occurred elsewhere in the state. Crude oil has not reached the Little Missouri River.

The DOH says the section of pipeline that leaked has been isolated and is being excavated. As of Sunday an estimated 14 barrels of oil and six barrels of brine had been recovered from the site. The DOH has been at the site since shortly after the spill was reported and will remain there to monitor the investigation and cleanup.