Keystone Pipeline Leaks 210,000 Gallons of Oil in South Dakota

TransCanada Corp shut part of its Keystone oil pipeline system after a 5,000-barrel leak in South Dakota, the company said on Thursday, November 16th, four days before neighboring Nebraska was set to decide on the company’s long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline. The amount leaked is equivalent to about 210,000 gallons of oil.

This is the largest Keystone oil spill to date in South Dakota, said Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the state's Department of Environment and Natural Resources. There were no initial reports of the oil spill affecting waterways, water systems or wildlife, he said.

TransCanada discovered the leak in the town of Amherst at 6 a.m. on Thursday after systems detected a drop in pressure, and worked with authorities as it investigates the cause.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made Keystone XL a key plank in his energy policy and handed TransCanada a federal permit in March, reversing former President Barack Obama’s decision to reject the line on environmental grounds after years of study.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission, or PSC, was scheduled on Monday, November 20th, to announce and approve the decision on whether the proposed pipeline route through the state is in the best interests of Nebraskans. Native American groups have argued the pipeline would cut across their sovereign lands.

Other states have already approved XL’s route.

According to TransCanada, the spill in South Dakota led the company to shut the Keystone pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, to Cushing, Oklahoma, and to Wood River and Patoka in Illinois. Although the southern leg of the system to the Gulf Coast remained operational.

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References

KMBC. (2017). Keystone pipeline leaks 210,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota. [online] Available at: http://www.kmbc.com/article/keystone-pipeline-shuts-down-across-several-states-after-leak-company-says/13788870 [Accessed 21 Dec. 2017].

Reuters. (2017). Keystone oil pipeline leaks in South Dakota, as Nebraska weighs XL. [online] Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-transcanada-keystone-spill/keystone-oil-pipeline-leaks-in-south-dakota-as-nebraska-weighs-xl-idUSKBN1DG30K [Accessed 21 Dec. 2017].