4 years later, cleanup nears end for big North Dakota spill

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota regulators say cleanup is nearing completion four years after a pipeline break spilled more than 20,000 barrels of oil in a wheat field in northwestern North Dakota.

The Tesoro pipeline spill was discovered by a Tioga farmer in 2013. It has been called one of the largest onshore spills in U.S. history. The company says a lightning strike may have caused the rupture.

Regulators say excavation of the site is scheduled for completion this month, with the land ready for replanting next spring.

More than 1 million tons of soil has been removed from the 13-acre site. Most of the oil from the spill has been baked from the soil before it’s replaced.

The company estimates cleanup costs at $73 million.