Keystone Pipeline Spills 200,000 Gallons of Oil
Spills were among the major concerns listed by protestors of the pipeline's controversial XL extension.
South Dakota's Keystone pipeline, the controversial structure whose extension triggered the Standing Rock protests (see photos), has leaked 200,000 gallons of oil, or about 5,000 barrels.
In a statement, the Canadian oil company TransCanada, which manages the pipe, said that a loss of pressure inside the structure caused the leak, which workers detected at 7:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Thursday morning. The leaking pipe section ran along a right-of-way 35 miles south of a pumping station in rural Marshall County, South Dakota.
TransCanada said the spill was contained within 15 minutes. South Dakota's Department of Environment and Natural Resources wasn't notified of the leak until 11:30 a.m. Eastern, more than four hours after the leak was detected, according to department groundwater
