Close X
Saturday, January 11, 2025
ADVT 
National

TransCanada Shuts Down KeyStone Pipeline After Oil Spill In South Dakota

The Canadian Press, 04 Apr, 2016 01:15 PM
  • TransCanada Shuts Down KeyStone Pipeline After Oil Spill In South Dakota
CALGARY — TransCanada has shut down its Keystone pipeline while it investigates an oil spill in South Dakota, the company said Monday.
 
Mark Cooper, a spokesman for TransCanada, said a local landowner noticed signs of an oil spill around noon local time Saturday and informed the company.
 
The pipeline, which carries about 500,000 barrels of oil a day, was shut down in minutes, Cooper said.
 
"As soon as we got that report in we immediately began efforts to shut down the pipeline and crews were immediately dispatched to the site," Cooper said.
 
He said it was difficult to determine precisely how much oil was spilled, though the company said it covered a "small surface area" with no significant impact to the environment observed. The company continues to investigate the source of the spill, he added.
 
The spill was found about six kilometres from TransCanada's Freeman pump station, which sits roughly 60 km southwest of Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
 
The company said it has notified landowners and local agencies in the area as well as regulatory agencies including the National Response Center and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
 
The Keystone pipeline carries oil from Hardisty, Alta., east through to Manitoba before it turns south to markets in the American Midwest and U.S. Gulf Coast.
 
TransCanada said it has notified customers that the pipeline running from Hardisty to Cushing, Okla., and to terminals in Illinois would remain shut until at least Friday, while the Gulf Coast extension of the pipeline remains active.
 
The incident comes as TransCanada continues to push forward its proposed 4,600-kilometre Energy East Pipeline that would ship Alberta crude to New Brunswick.
 
The company hit a major setback in its pipeline expansion plans when U.S. President Barack Obama rejected its proposed Keystone XL pipeline last November.
 
Environmental groups had opposed the pipeline, which would have run from Hardisty to Nebraska, both because it would allow increased exports of oilsands crude and because of potential spills.

MORE National ARTICLES

Cross-Canada Vigils To Bring Home B.C. Children From War-Torn Iraq

Cross-Canada Vigils To Bring Home B.C. Children From War-Torn Iraq
Lorraine McKendry was one of about a dozen people who held candles and placards during a vigil outside the B.C. legislature.

Cross-Canada Vigils To Bring Home B.C. Children From War-Torn Iraq

DND Internal Inquiry Into Sex Complaint Case Still Under Review 14 Months Later

DND Internal Inquiry Into Sex Complaint Case Still Under Review 14 Months Later
A military board investigation into the handling of a high-profile sexual misconduct case is complete, but still under review by the commander of the Canadian Army more than a year after it was ordered at National Defence

DND Internal Inquiry Into Sex Complaint Case Still Under Review 14 Months Later

B.C. LNG Decision Faces Three-month Delay To Review Project Details For Environmental Review

Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna says the creation of a liquefied natural gas industry offers a significant economic opportunity for British Columbia and Canada, which is why more time is needed to get it right

B.C. LNG Decision Faces Three-month Delay To Review Project Details For Environmental Review

Suspect In Trafficking Of Girl, 14, Opts To Stay In Jail Cell Over Facing Media

Suspect In Trafficking Of Girl, 14, Opts To Stay In Jail Cell Over Facing Media
A Halifax-area man accused of trafficking a 14-year-old girl skipped a court appearance Monday, preferring to stay in jail because he didn't want to face the media, his lawyer said.

Suspect In Trafficking Of Girl, 14, Opts To Stay In Jail Cell Over Facing Media

Former Paramedic Finds Hope, Healing, Raising Awareness Of Post-Traumatic Stress

Former Paramedic Finds Hope, Healing, Raising Awareness Of Post-Traumatic Stress
Forty-five-year-old Terrance Kosikar has just finished a gruelling physical test flipping a nearly 200 kilogram tractor tire through the back roads towards Whistler, B.C., while wearing nearly 25 kilograms of steel chain.

Former Paramedic Finds Hope, Healing, Raising Awareness Of Post-Traumatic Stress

KBR To Do Engineering, Design Work For Proposed Woodfibre LNG Project In B.C.

KBR To Do Engineering, Design Work For Proposed Woodfibre LNG Project In B.C.
A Houston-based company has been selected to do engineering and design work for the proposed Woodfibre liquefied natural gas project north of Vancouver.

KBR To Do Engineering, Design Work For Proposed Woodfibre LNG Project In B.C.