More Than 200,000 Gallons Of Oil Have Spilled From The Keystone Pipeline
The large leak was discovered Thursday in South Dakota, prompting crews to shut down the pipeline.
More than 200,000 gallons of oil have spilled from the Keystone pipeline in South Dakota, the operator said Thursday, prompting a shutdown of the system.
TransCanada, the company that operates the pipeline, said in a statement that about 5,000 barrels of oil had leaked in Marshall County, South Dakota. One barrel holds 42 gallons, meaning the spill involved roughly 210,000 gallons of oil.
According to TransCanada, the spill "was completely isolated within 15 minutes and emergency response procedures were activated."
"Crews, including TransCanada specialists from emergency management, engineering, environmental management and safety as well as contracted, nationally recognized experts are assessing the situation."
TransCanada said that the pipeline was shut down at 6 a.m. Thursday following a recorded drop in pressure.
Brian Walsh, an official with the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, told BuzzFeed News that TransCanada notified his department about the leak at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
"We’re not quite sure why there was a time gap in there" between when TransCanada shut off the pipe and when it notified the government agency, Walsh said.
The leak happened in a rural area about three miles from Amherst, the nearest town. Images from the scene showed a group of trucks along a rural road.
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
Kayleigh Schmidt @KayleighKSFY
More TransCanada crews showing up to help clean up the pipeline leak from this morning. #ksfynews
5:50 PM - Nov 16, 2017
Replies 3 3 Retweets 1 1 like
Twitter Ads info and privacy
David Flute, chairman of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribe, told BuzzFeed News the leak was on a section of pipeline adjacent to his reservation. He said the area has "the cleanest lakes in South Dakota," as well as a large subterranean aquifer, and is concerned about the possibility of contamination.
"I’m thinking there is going to be an impact, some type of environmental impact," Flute said. "As the oil seeps, if they can’t contain the spill, which I’m hoping they do, if they’re unable to contain it from seeping into the water systems, it can be hurtful and harmful to everybody."
Walsh said the spill had not impacted any bodies of water on the surface, meaning oil "won’t be traveling along a river or a creek." He said the oil was unlikely to reach the aquifer in the area, which is located between 800 and 900 feet underground.
It is unclear how long it will take to clean up the spill. TransCanada did not immediately respond to a BuzzFeed News request for comment.
The pipeline where the spill took place is part of the Keystone Pipeline System, which according to TransCanada stretches across 2,687 miles. An extension of the system, called the Keystone XL, was the source of controversy and protests for years before the Obama administration finally rejected it in 2015.
Earlier this year, however, the Trump administration approved the project.
Walsh said the section where Thursday's leak occurred began operations sometime around 2010, and Flute said it was greeted with less controversy than the XL project.
The pipeline has leaked before. In April 2016, TransCanada told regulators 187 gallons of oil had spilled, but later revised that number up to nearly 17,000 gallons.
Here’s What It’s Like At The Standing Rock Pipeline Protest In North Dakota
buzzfeed.com
Senate Democrats Block Keystone XL Pipeline Approval
The large leak was discovered Thursday in South Dakota, prompting crews to shut down the pipeline.
More than 200,000 gallons of oil have spilled from the Keystone pipeline in South Dakota, the operator said Thursday, prompting a shutdown of the system.
TransCanada, the company that operates the pipeline, said in a statement that about 5,000 barrels of oil had leaked in Marshall County, South Dakota. One barrel holds 42 gallons, meaning the spill involved roughly 210,000 gallons of oil.
According to TransCanada, the spill "was completely isolated within 15 minutes and emergency response procedures were activated."
"Crews, including TransCanada specialists from emergency management, engineering, environmental management and safety as well as contracted, nationally recognized experts are assessing the situation."
TransCanada said that the pipeline was shut down at 6 a.m. Thursday following a recorded drop in pressure.
Brian Walsh, an official with the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, told BuzzFeed News that TransCanada notified his department about the leak at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
"We’re not quite sure why there was a time gap in there" between when TransCanada shut off the pipe and when it notified the government agency, Walsh said.
The leak happened in a rural area about three miles from Amherst, the nearest town. Images from the scene showed a group of trucks along a rural road.
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
Kayleigh Schmidt @KayleighKSFY
More TransCanada crews showing up to help clean up the pipeline leak from this morning. #ksfynews
5:50 PM - Nov 16, 2017
Replies 3 3 Retweets 1 1 like
Twitter Ads info and privacy
David Flute, chairman of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribe, told BuzzFeed News the leak was on a section of pipeline adjacent to his reservation. He said the area has "the cleanest lakes in South Dakota," as well as a large subterranean aquifer, and is concerned about the possibility of contamination.
"I’m thinking there is going to be an impact, some type of environmental impact," Flute said. "As the oil seeps, if they can’t contain the spill, which I’m hoping they do, if they’re unable to contain it from seeping into the water systems, it can be hurtful and harmful to everybody."
Walsh said the spill had not impacted any bodies of water on the surface, meaning oil "won’t be traveling along a river or a creek." He said the oil was unlikely to reach the aquifer in the area, which is located between 800 and 900 feet underground.
It is unclear how long it will take to clean up the spill. TransCanada did not immediately respond to a BuzzFeed News request for comment.
The pipeline where the spill took place is part of the Keystone Pipeline System, which according to TransCanada stretches across 2,687 miles. An extension of the system, called the Keystone XL, was the source of controversy and protests for years before the Obama administration finally rejected it in 2015.
Earlier this year, however, the Trump administration approved the project.
Walsh said the section where Thursday's leak occurred began operations sometime around 2010, and Flute said it was greeted with less controversy than the XL project.
The pipeline has leaked before. In April 2016, TransCanada told regulators 187 gallons of oil had spilled, but later revised that number up to nearly 17,000 gallons.
Here’s What It’s Like At The Standing Rock Pipeline Protest In North Dakota
buzzfeed.com
Senate Democrats Block Keystone XL Pipeline Approval
