SW MN men ordered to pay $1 million for shooting Lyon County pipeline, releasing oil into Yellow Medicine River

Two southwest Minnesota men have been sentenced to probation and ordered to pay more than $1.1 million for damaging a pipeline and causing an oil spill into the Yellow Medicine River.

According to court documents, in April 2019, Tanner Sik, age 21, of Ivanhoe, and Eric Weckworth-Pineda, age 25, of Cottonwood, used a rifle to fire several shots into the pipeline in Lyon County. They returned to the area later in the day, saw the leak, and reported the spill to authorities. Cleaning up 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and repairing the pipeline cost over a million dollars.

The two pleaded guilty in March for the federal charge of negligent discharge of a pollutant. The two could have faced jail time for the crime.