The Keystone Pipeline is being shut down after a huge oil leak was discovered in northern Kansas.
TC Energy in Canada shut down the pipeline after more 14-thousand barrels spilled into Mill Creek in Washington County, Kansas late Thursday, making it one of the largest crude oil spills in the U.S. in nearly a decade. The cause of the leak is unknown. The spill is reported to be the largest in the 12-year history of the pipeline.
TC Energy says the pipeline will remain shut while their crews work to contain the leak. The company has expanded the workforce at the site. No timetable has been given for restarting the pipeline.
The Environmental Protection Agency has crews at the scene, and the agency said in a press release that TC Energy has constructed an earthen underflow dam on Mill Creek about four miles south of the location of the break. There are no concerns for oil to move past the dam. Vacuum trucks and skimmers are being used to remove oil from the creek and that activity is expected to continue into next week.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a stream advisory warning residents to stay out of Mill Creek and to keep livestock, pets and children out of the creek.
Over 600-thousand barrels of oil flow through the Keystone Pipeline each day, from Alberta to refineries in the Midwest and on the Gulf Coast.
[ image: TC Energy – Facebook ]
