The pipeline is under the jurisdiction of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Its size, pipeline pressure and location put it beneath the minimum threshold for monitoring and testing requirements.

Glatt said the Dec. 30 derailment near Casselton resulted in a total of 9,000 yards of soil being excavated at the site so far. Of that, 1,400 yards have been disposed of in -state. The rest is expected to be disposed of out of state as a cost-saving measure.

A train carrying grain had derailed near Casselton. Shortly after this a train traveling the opposite direction carrying crude oil derailed and collided with the first train.

The BNSF Railway derailment caused several explosions, a leak of approximately 400,000 gallons of crude and a large plume of smoke which prompted a voluntary evacuation for nearly 24 hours.

“They’re hopeful to have it done this summer,” Glatt said.

“What were the lessons learned from each of these events?” asked Sen. Connie Triplett, D-Grand Forks.

Glatt said it became evident that information on spills needs to be released sooner. He said the Health Department had been working on creating a database with information on spills, and the Tesoro incident expedited it.