EPA says no drinking water was contaminated by Keystone Pipeline oil spill in Kansas

The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said no drinking water was contaminated after a Keystone Pipeline oil spill in northern Kansas.

The spill, which is the largest in the pipeline’s history, released an estimated 14,000 barrels of oil into Mill Creek in Washington County Wednesday night.

The EPA said it dispatched two representatives to the scene of the ruptured pipeline to provide oversight and monitoring of containment and clean-up efforts by TC Energy, which operates the pipeline.

“EPA on-scene coordinators have been on-site providing oversight and monitoring of containment and cleanup actions being performed by TC Energy,” EPA spokesperson Kellen Ashford wrote in a Friday press release. “The discharge has been contained, and no drinking water has been impacted.”

The agency added that TC Energy deployed around 100 employees to “contain the discharge and clean up the impacted areas.”

About three miles of surface water in Mill Creek was impacted and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has issued a stream advisory warning residents to not enter the creek and keep livestock, pets, and children out of it, Ashford said in an email Friday.

Local property owners of the surrounding farmland have relocated livestock to keep the animals safe while cleanup operations are underway, he said.

The estimated volume of oil released is more than all of the pipeline’s 22 prior spills combined. The spilled amount is equivalent to around 558,000 gallons— enough to fill around 43 ½ standard swimming pools.

The 2,687 mile long Keystone Pipeline carries crude oil from Canada to refineries across the U.S, particularly in the Midwest. CNN reported Thursday that the pipeline’s overnight shutdown caused the price of oil to rise by around 5% before returning to normal levels.

Photos from the scene showed crews building an emergency dam across the creek and deploying vacuum trucks and floating barriers called “booms” to collect spilled oil. The pipeline remains shut down as repairs are underway.

“We are continuing to collect information from authorities and local residents regarding this disaster, its impact and cleanup,” Sierra Club lobbyist Zack Pistora told The Star Friday. “The situation is certainly distressing for the community and ecosystem impacted in Washington, Kansas.”