TransCanada Corp. said its Keystone pipeline has leaked an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota.
The company said crews shut down the pipeline this Thursday morning after a drop in pressure was detected resulting from an oil leak that's under investigation. The section of pipe near the Ludden pump station in Marshall County, South Dakota, has been isolated and the company says emergency response procedures were activated.
South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources environmental scientist Brian Walsh said there’s potential for contamination of shallow ground water near the spill site, but none that people draw water from. Walsh said this oil spill is much larger than the Keystone pipeline spill last year.
“In April of 2016, TransCanada had a spill on this pipeline near Freeman and it was about a 400 barrel release, Walsh said in an interview with South Dakota Public Radio. "The reported volume for this release is 5,000 barrels. So that gives you a little bit of a frame of reference to recent pipeline spills in the state.”
Walsh said TransCanada will have to excavate all contaminated soil and conduct a groundwater contamination survey.
TransCanada has mobilized a crew to begin the cleanup process.