A section of the Keystone pipeline was shut down Thursday after a 5,000-barrel oil leak occurred in Amherst, S.D., just days before Nebraska regulators decide whether to approve the Keystone XL expansion of the pipeline.
TransCanada, the pipeline developer, said the leak happened in an agricultural area and there have been no reports of the oil entering waterways or water systems.
The pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, in Canada to Cushing, Okla., and to Wood River/Patoka, Ill., is expected to remain shut as TransCanada responds to the incident, the developer said.
“TransCanada crews safely shut down its Keystone pipeline after a drop in pressure was detected in its operating system resulting from an oil leak that is under investigation,” TransCanada said in a statement. “The safety of the public and environment are our top priorities and we will continue to provide updates as they become available.”
The Nebraska Public Service Commission will make its long-awaited decision on whether to allow the Keystone XL expansion of the network on Monday, representing the last regulatory hurdle facing the pipeline.
The Keystone XL pipeline, which at 1,179 miles long would ship oil from Canada’s Alberta oil sands to Steele City, Neb., and then on to refineries along the Gulf Coast, has been contested by environmental advocates worried about spills and climate change.
Former President Barack Obama’s State Department considered the application for seven years before Obama rejected it in November 2015, a month before signing the Paris climate change agreement.
The Trump administration granted a permit for the pipeline in March, but it still needs approval by the five-member Nebraska Public Service Commission to be built in the state.
