Just over three years since the biggest land-based pipeline spill in the United States in almost a decade, the company that manages the Keystone Pipeline System has reached an agreement with the U.S. government in a proposed settlement which calls for it to pay a $26.9 million civil penalty.
This settlement comes after a pipeline rupture in December 2022 in Washington County, Kansas, which spilt approximately 13,000 barrels of heavy crude oil into the local creek.
Beyond the payment of the civil penalty, the company has also pledged to make investments in safety measures, as well as restoration in Kansas.Why is South Bow paying a $26.9 million penaltyAs reported by Associated Press (AP), the proposed settlement resolves allegations by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Kansas that South Bow, the Canadian company now operating the Keystone Pipeline system, violated federal and state clean water laws.Under the agreement, South Bow will pay a $26.9 million civil penalty, spend approximately $40 million on measures designed to prevent similar accidents and contribute more than $3 million to Kansas for environmental restoration projects.
The company stated that it had already completed environmental remediation by February 2024 and has since conducted more than 12,000 miles (19,000 kilometres) of pipeline inspections along with hundreds of excavations to assess and repair sections of the pipeline.What happened in the 2022 Keystone Pipeline oil spill?On December 7, 2022, the Keystone Pipeline ruptured near Mill Creek in Washington County, Kansas, releasing an estimated 12,937 barrels (approximately 543,000 gallons) of crude oil into the surrounding environment.
