It’s been two weeks since Canadian oil giant TC Energy announced its Keystone pipeline sprung a leak. Oil spilled into Mill Creek in Washington County, Kansas. Nearly 600,000 gallons of oil spilled into the stream as well as the pasture land surrounding it.
Environmental experts say this is just the beginning to a cleanup that will likely take years. Aerial footage of the leak shows its has affected nearby pasture and farmland.
Operators were alerted to the spill from the pipeline on December 7th. The company says it is removing the oil from the creek as quickly as possible.
Many initial details, like the exact cause for the spill, are still not clear. What is known is the type of oil that was being transported through the pipeline: tar sands oil. Heavy and toxic.
This thick, toxic oil makes cleanup very difficult, according to environmental experts with experience in dealing with such spills. The full picture of the leak won’t be known until the recovery process is completed.
Keystone has been the subject of 22 reported leaks since 2010, according to a Government Accountability Office report last year. With the Mill Creek case, it is now up to at least 23.
“Keystone’s accident history has been similar to other crude oil pipelines since 2010, but the severity of spills has worsened in recent years,” GAO said. “Similar to crude oil pipelines nationwide, most of Keystone’s 22 accidents from 2010 through 2020 released fewer than 50 barrels of oil and were contained on operator-controlled property such as a pump station.”
Prior to construction, TC Energy got a special permit from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to operate certain portions of the pipeline at a higher pressure level than is ordinarily allowed under agency regulations for oil transport.
Though the reason for the spill is still unknown, both there have been concerns over this permit and questions if the higher stress level was potentially a major factor in the latest spill.
“That is unusual, that is not the norm,” said an environmental expert, of the number of spills from this one pipeline. “They should have never given a company with this many spills a special permit to pump at higher pressure.”
PHMSA says it’s regulations have extensive requirements for pipeline accident reporting. The agency requires accident reports of incidents that have “a release of 5 gallons or more of hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide, with an exception for maintenance related releases,” the agency says.
Not including the Mill Creek leak, the two largest spills in Keystone’s history occurred in 2017 and 2019. As of December 7th, government data shows that this spill is the biggest in the pipeline’s history.
It’s great the regulators require prompt reporting and strictly managed cleanup of these pipeline spills. But, why did the PHMSA allow higher than normal pressure on this section of the pipeline? A big question needing a prompt and detailed answer.
And TC Energy does not have an operating track record that encourages confidence in its commitment to environmental safety for rural communities where their pipelines are located.
Great Western Journey 