About 14,000 barrels of diluted bitumen leaked from the pipeline Dec. 7, just a few miles from the Nebraska-Kansas border.
The company was able to resume operation of part of the pipeline last week, between the Alberta and Illinois refineries. The section that carries oil between Nebraska and the Cushing hub in Oklahoma remained closed.
TC Energy must first get approval from the head of the US regulatory agency Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
In an email response, TC Energy did not confirm that it had filed a recovery plan. He only reiterated that restarting the pipeline will only happen when it is safe and when regulatory approval has been obtained from PHMSA.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted to the company et al PHMSA extension.EPA will continue to coordinate and monitor accident cleanup regardless of pipeline operational status”,”text”:”EPA will continue to coordinate and monitor accident cleanup regardless of pipeline operational status”}}”>L’EPA will continue to coordinate and monitor the cleanup of the incident, regardless of the operational status of the pipelinehe said in an email.
Many measures needed
According to Richard Kuprewicz, president of the pipeline consultancy Accufacts Inc., it is not necessary to determine the cause of the leak to allow the pipeline to be put back into service. TC Energy just needs to prove that the problem is not systemic and should not cause further leaks, he told Reuters news agency.
The PHMSA extension however, it does require a long list of corrective actions, including a complete and independent root cause analysis within 90 days of the leak.
It also orders that any return to service takes place with a gradual increase in the volume transported and constant monitoring. A 20% reduction in pressure will also be imposed.
Cleaning still in progress
According to the latest update of theEPA, 657 people are working at the scene of the accident. The company says it has recovered about half of the bitumen, but cold weather could slow cleanup efforts.
This spill is the worst in TC Energy’s history. The Keystone pipeline, on the other hand, was the scene of 22 accidents between 2010 and 2020.
