Cleanup of Keystone oil pipeline spill expected to last weeks, officials say

Emergency crews work to clean up a spill from the Keystone pipeline, in Washington County, Kan., on Dec. 9.DRONE BASE/Reuters

Cleanup of the biggest U.S. oil spill in nearly a decade will take at least weeks more, local officials in Kansas said on Tuesday, citing a recent meeting with Keystone pipeline owner TC Energy Corp TRP-T.

TC closed the pipeline after the spill of roughly 14,000 barrels of crude was discovered on Wednesday in Washington County in Kansas. There is still no official timeline for a restart of the line, which will need approval from regulators.

TC and county officials met briefly on Monday.

“They told us they expected to be here for several more weeks,” said Randy Hubbard, Washington County’s emergency management co-ordinator. “They didn’t qualify what that is.”

TC did not respond to questions, and the company and regulators have not yet identified a cause for the leak.

Sabotage has been ruled out, Kansas State Representative Lisa Moser said in a post online Monday.

The 622,000 barrel-per-day Keystone line, which ships heavy Canadian crude from Alberta to U.S. refiners in the Midwest and the Gulf Coast, had received a special permit to run at a higher rate than any other crude line in the United States, and has been doing so since 2017.

Workers have recovered roughly 2,600 barrels of oil and water from a creek, which does not connect to a drinking water source, according to TC.

Washington Commissioner Raleigh Ordoyne said TC’s cleanup efforts have exceeded expectations.

“In a time where nobody stands behind their product, or nobody takes accountability for actions or for a fault, TC Energy has come in and taken care of business,” Ordoyne said.

“They’ve got boots on the ground 24/7 and I couldn’t imagine this cleanup going any better.”

Vacuum trucks continue to suck oil out of Mill Creek but skimmers – used to collect water from the surface – are not working well because of cool temperatures, Moser said.

The spill directly affects five landowners, while another nine landowners have staging areas for TC workers on their properties, Moser said, adding that all 14 landowners are receiving compensation.

Jeanette Stamm, 78, who owns pasture land two miles (3.2 km)from the spill site, said she is concerned about whether crews can remove all the oil from Mill Creek and whether crude could seep into the aquifer.

“I hope (the area) will all be put back the way it was. I don’t know if it ever will be.”

Hubbard said TC has assured the county that oil will not reach the drinking water table or other water sources.

Light rain fell in Washington County on Tuesday but was expected to clear later in the day, according to the National Weather Service.

“They’re using large equipment out in fields that are muddy, so undoubtedly it will slow things down,” Hubbard said.

U.S. crude futures jumped 3.5 per cent to $75.73 per barrel on Tuesday, buoyed in part by supply concerns linked to the Keystone shutdown.

TC Energy shares have risen 0.5 per cent since disclosing the spill.

The number of personnel from TC, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state agencies and the county numbered more than 300, the EPA said on Tuesday.

There has been no additional impact from the spilled oil since Friday, the date of the EPA’s previous update, the agency said.

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