US government data shows that the spills from TC Energy Corp. ‘s Keystone pipeline has increased in severity over the past year.
The Calgary-based company has more than 250 people on the ground in Washington County, Kan., cleaning up the roughly 14,000 barrels of oil that leaked into a creek last week.
The spill is the largest in the history of the 4,324 km Keystone pipeline.
A report last year from the US Government Accountability Office said pipelines are considered much safer than transporting oil by truck or rail, and Keystone’s safety record since 2010 is similar to that of other crude pipelines.
But the report also said Keystone’s safety record over the past five years is worse than the national average. In addition to last week’s spill, the pipeline has had leaks in 2017 and 2019.
TC Energy has not yet indicated the cause of last week’s spill. The Keystone pipeline system remains shut down and a restart date has not been set.
