Pipeline rupture spews oil into creek 150 miles from Standing Rock

Breach of Belle Fourche pipeline highlights the potential for spills that could taint drinking water, an issue at the core of the Dakota Access pipeline protest

Electronic monitoring equipment failed to detect a pipeline rupture that spewed more than 176,000 gallons of crude oil into a North Dakota creek, according to the pipeline's operator, about 150 miles from the site of the Standing Rock protests.

The potential for a pipeline leak that might taint drinking water is at the core of the months-long standoff at the Dakota Access pipeline, where thousands of people have been protesting against its construction. That pipeline would cross the Missouri river.