TransCanada says it has received conditional approval to restart its Keystone Pipeline after identifying the source of a small leak in South Dakota. Originally, officials had reported less than 200 gallons were spilled. TransCanada in a meeting on Tuesday afternoon with committed shippers said the pipeline would restart by next Tuesday at the earliest, sources said.
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On Saturday, the oil leak that was discovered on the keystone pipeline and forced a part of it to be shut down appears to be spilling more oil than expected by TransCanada initially. TransCanada, in a statement, said: “No significant impact to the environment has been observed and our investigation continues”.
Company work crews are still investigating the leak, along with PHMSA.
On Saturday, a local landowner noted the leakage in the pipeline, six kilometers (or 4 miles) from TransCanada’s Freeman pump station in Hutchinson County.
The line, which delivers crude from Hardisty, Alberta to Cushing, Oklahoma, and then to IL, was shut last weekend after a potential leak, Kallanish Energy learns.
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“It’s potentially the first time we’ve seen anything on the pipeline itself”, he said. The PHMSA is an agency of the U.S. Transportation Department responsible for developing and enforcing pipeline regulations. “How long are they going to have to put their farm life on hold because of TransCanada’s reckless pipeline?” said Kleeb, who is head of advocacy group Bold Nebraska. The existing one can carry about 26 percent of the 2.3 million Canadian barrels that flow each day into the Midwest, providing nearly all of the region’s imported petroleum, said Andy Lipow, president of Houston-based Lipow Oil Associates LLC. Brian Walsh, an environmental scientist with DENR’s groundwater quality program, traveled to the scene Sunday to ensure TransCanada was properly addressing the situation.
