2,600 barrels recovered as response continues for Washington Co. oil spill

WASHINGTON CO., Kan. (WIBW) - Recovery remains underway days after a pipeline leak spilled thousands of gallons of oil into a Kansas creek.

TC Energy confirmed Dec. 8 that the Keystone Pipeline developed a leak about 20 miles south of a terminal north of the Nebraska border. About 14,000 barrels of oil, or 588,000 gallons, spilled into a Washington Co. creek. The pipeline was shut down and crews were dispatched to contain the spill that day.

TC Energy gave an update at 6:30 p.m. Monday stating 2,598 barrels of oil and water had been recovered from the creek so far, and that the leak was still contained to the original area. They also confirmed the creek is not connected to a source of drinking water.

“We continue to progress our response and recovery effort at our Keystone Pipeline System Milepost 14 Incident site in Washington County, Kansas.
We remain focused on the following response and recovery activities, including:
As of today, we have recovered 2,598 barrels of oil and water from the creek. The creek does not connect to a source of drinking water.
Vacuum trucks and our crews are operating around the clock to drive this effort and multiple booms are set up downstream of the release point to contain the oil from moving downstream; oil has not breached the containment area.
Our commitment to the community is that our response efforts will continue until we have fully remediated the site. We now have over 300 individuals on site, including third-party experts, to support containment and incident response.”
TC Energy Update: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12

Area responders, wildlife officials and about 300 people sent by TC Energy are working together to resolve the situation. The company is also in discussion with tribal nations and will welcome representatives on-site to monitor the progress.

“We are working with local and state environmental agencies to develop incident-specific Wildlife Management plans, including specialists to care for impacted wildlife,” a statement from TC Energy read. “We appreciate the patience and collaboration of the surrounding community and partner agencies for their support in responding to this incident.”

A cause for the leak has not been identified, and no timeline has been set for repairs.

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