As opponents of Keystone XL consistently argued, it’s not if the pipeline would leak, but when.
Keystone I pipeline (a separate pipeline already in use) has had 4 previous leaks in SD since it was opened in 2009. We are now waiting to see how large the fifth one — the first major spill is. There are several concerns:
1: The spill was not detected by TransCanada’s high tech spill-detection systems. It was reported by a passerby who noticed “a sheen of oil in the ditch” www.argusleader.com/… overlying the buried pipeline in a rural area near Freeman, SD on 2 April. Although the pipeline was shut down within minutes of TransCanada being notified, Keith Stewart of Greenpeace noted: “The company has been making big claims at the Energy East Pipeline hearings in Quebec about how their spill detection system will identify a leak within minutes, but the truth is that most pipeline spills aren’t detected until the oil makes it way to the surface where it can be seen and smelt,”. www.theglobeandmail.com/…
2. Initial reports were:
TransCanada (TRP), which operates the pipeline, reported a spill of about 187 gallons of crude oil to the Coast Guard's National Response Center on Saturday afternoon. The company said in a statement it is removing the oil and investigating the source. TransCanada said "no significant impact to the environment has been observed." The crews initially found "visible signs of oil on a small surface area," TransCanada said. money.cnn.com/… Although the initial estimate, equal to abou 4.5 barrels of oil, would make this the largest spill so far from Keystone I, almost a week later this estimate was amended. TransCanada has increased the estimated size of an oil spill near Freeman to a "potential volume” of 16,800 gallons, or 400 barrels. Since efforts to find the source and extent of the leak are ongoing, this remain a TransCanada estimate and not the final determination. (The state record for a pipeline leak is 9,524 barrels in 1993.) It should be obvious that oil seeping to the surface of a ditch from a pipe buried 10 feet underground should represent a significant leak and that the initial estimate was extraordinarily inaccurate.
3. Since the source and extent of the leak have not yet been identified, any impact to the environment cannot be determined yet. Already, Brian Walsh of the SD DENR has said that some wells could be contaminated. (The proposed route for Keystone XL over the major Oglalla aquifer was one of the major concerns of opponents given the inevitability of leaks, the difficulty of detection and the impossibility of cleaning up such leaks.) The effort to locate the source of this leak continues, utilizing 100 TransCanada workers round the clock, and so far exposing 100 feet of pipeline 10-12 feet deep.
The first report of the increased size of the leak was from www.rt.com/… followed by Cory Heidelberger at Dakota Free Press, a blog often excerpted in Meteor Blade’s compilations of local liberal blogs on this site.
Political relevance besides the obvious is that Heidelberger is a much needed Democratic candidate for the South Dakota State Senate District 3 (Aberdeen). His ActBlue link is here for anyone who wants to support a compelling candidate coryheidelberger.com/... and a 50-state strategy.