Keystone pipeline to resume pumping oil Tuesday
John Hult
The company behind a large pipeline spill in northeast South Dakota this month will resume shipping oil through the pipe that leaked by Nov. 28.
A news release from TransCanada says the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) has reviewed its repair and restart plans for its Keystone I pipeline, clearing the company to put the line back in service.
The company says it will operate the pipeline at a reduced pressure starting Tuesday, “to ensure a safe and gradual increase in the volume of crude oil moving through the system.”
The release says it will “comply with any future PHMSA orders” to make sure the pipeline is safe and thanks the Marshall County landowner who granted the company access to land for clean-up and repair.
The 2,147-mile Keystone pipeline leaked more than 210,000 gallons of oil on Nov. 16, forcing a shutdown.
It was the second South Dakota spill for the pipeline, which is less than a decade old. The first took place near Freeman in April of 2016, spilling more than 17,000 gallons. A third major spill in North Dakota spilled a similar amount.
The leak came as regulators in Nebraska debated the approval of the KeystoneXL pipeline, a once-shuttered project restarted when President Donald Trump issued a long-delayed permit.
