South Dakota’s Keystone pipeline leaked over 200,000 gallons of oil on November 17th. The pipeline’s construction began in June 2016 and sparked major controversy with its environmental impact that threatened Native American land.
According to National Geographic, the leaking pipe that ran 35 miles south of rural Marshall County was discovered by workers at 7:00 a.m. and was reportedly stopped after 15 minutes.
TransCanada, the corporation that owns the Keystone pipeline, released a statement explaining that the cleanup will take a long period of time and that civilians are safe from harm.
“We have been keeping our shippers and customers up to date and have communicated that the pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta to Cushing, Oklahoma and to Wood River/Patoka, Illinois is expected to remain shut down as we respond to this incident,” stated TransCanada. “The safety of the public and environment are our top priorities and we will continue to provide updates as they become available.”
Dallas Goldtooth, a representative from the Indigenous Environmental Network, explains that the leak is affecting Indigenous peoples’ land and creating economic instability.
“It’s a complete disregard for free prior and informed consent as guaranteed on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples…It puts at risk the drinking water of over 65,000 Indigenous peoples along the route and puts at risk the livelihood for so many people that depend on tourism, on the land itself for farming and livestock,” said Goldtooth to CBC News.
TransCanada’s pipelines have leaked several times in the last decade with smaller scale spills. In April 2016, CNN reported that the Keystone pipeline spilled over 16,800 gallons of oil in a low-risk area.
In an interview with the New York Times, Carl Weimer, Pipeline Safety Trust’s executive director, expressed his concern as the pipeline is still relatively new and is already leaking oil on a large scale.
Lillian Anderson, a homeowner within the oil spill’s vicinity, was strongly against the pipeline project and attested to Weimer’s concern.
“You could smell the oil…This stuff was so great we were never supposed to worry about it. Well, 10 years later, guess what? It’s leaking,” said Anderson in an interview with the New York Times.
TransCanada is currently working on cleaning up the spill and will continue to keep the public updated with new information on this issue, as required by law.
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