TOPEKA — Operators of the Keystone Pipeline agreed to pay Kansas $3 million for remediation projects and complete $40 million in work as part of a settlement from the 2022 spill that poured 13,000 barrels of oil into Mill Creek near Washington.
South Bow (USA) LP and South Bow Infrastructure Operations Inc., which own and operate the Keystone Pipeline, also agreed to pay more than $26.8 million as a civil penalty, according to a consent decree filed Friday.
The December 2022 rupture was one of the largest inland oil spills in recent history, and the $40 million will go toward work on the pipeline to prevent future similar spills, a news release from the U.S. Justice Department said.
“South Bow has also agreed to contribute over $3 million to the state of Kansas towards natural resource restoration projects to resolve violations of Kansas state laws,” the news release said.
The consent decree was filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas and is subject to a 30-day public comment period.
“This case demonstrates why the oil pipelines crossing our heartland must be maintained properly. The oil spill blanketed land and water, rendering the waterway lifeless and useless and requiring extensive cleanup and remediation,” said Jeffrey Hall, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
THE SPILL dumped about 588,000 gallons of oil when a 36-inch pipeline ruptured and it took nearly a year before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Mill Creek was flowing naturally.
The rupture in the high-pressure line stained a hillside black and poured crude into the perennial stream, which carried oil three miles downstream.
In a 2023 statement, the EPA said 650,000 gallons of oil from the Keystone pipeline was recovered, including oil from the pipeline following the rupture. In addition, the federal agency said 200,000 tons of oil-impacted soil, sediment and debris had to be excavated and transferred off-site for disposal.
IN TOTAL, 54 million gallons of contaminated surface water was treated and discharged back into Mill Creek, the EPA statement said.
The company was required to perform the cleanup work under federal government oversight, with an estimated cost of $480 million.
“The incident had a massive impact on the state of Kansas, and we are happy that this settlement will mitigate that damage,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Kriegshauser for the District of Kansas.
