On Monday, it had said it would remain shut for the week. “We expect to be at full operation by end of day tomorrow”, it added.
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The company told CNN Money that they have made progress in trying to find the source, although they have not found it.
Warren Mabee, an energy policy expert at Queen’s University, says while not insignificant, the spill is relatively small for a pipeline leak and the fact it’s not near a waterway or ecologically sensitive area helps reduce the impact.
TransCanada says it reported the estimate Thursday to the National Response Centre and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration. It was built with advanced leak-detection technology that TransCanada touted when promoting construction of the 36-inch Keystone XL pipeline. North Dakota health officials said at the time most of the 400-barrel spill was contained by a berm around the pumping station but some oil mist had to be cleaned from standing water in a nearby field.
Company spokesman Mark Cooper says they still have not identified the source of the leak. The leak detectors would make the KXL very safe, the pipeline’s advocates claimed.
Federal regulators and South Dakota’s Department of Environmental Resources are monitoring TransCanada’s investigation and cleanup.
How long the line is going to be down will depend on the men on the ground, but the more important concern is the safety of communities living along the Keystone pipeline.
Environmental concerns led President Obama to deny a permit to expand the Keystone pipeline previous year.
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TransCanada’s Keystone I pipeline carries light and heavy crude from Hardisty, Alberta to refineries in IL and Oklahoma, while passing through the eastern Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri.
