Lyon County man pleads guilty to shooting diesel pipeline, spilling 3,900 gallons of fuel
March 2, 2021 — 1:59pm
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A Lyon County man pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal misdemeanor for shooting an oil pipe in Cottonwood, Minn., resulting in a $1.1 million cleanup tab.
Tanner John Sik, 21, is charged in Minnesota' U.S. District Court for negligent discharge of a pollution. On April 24, 2019, Sik and Eric Jay Weckwerth-Pineda drove out to bridge near Cottonwood Lake, which flows into the Yellow Medicine River, with several firearms in the back of a truck, according to Sik's plea.
Sik shot an AR-15 four times at a pipeline owned by Magellan Midstream Partners, hitting it and spilling at least 3,900 gallons of diesel fuel into the water, according to the plea. Sik and others noticed a visible sheen on the lake and reported it to authorities.