TransCanada sends more crews to Keystone pipeline leak

FILE: TransCanada Logo (Photo By Unknown – SVG erstellt mit CorelDraw, Public Domain)

AMHERST, S.D. — TransCanada Corp. says the company has sent additional crews and equipment to the site of a 210,000-gallon oil spill in South Dakota from its Keystone pipeline.

TransCanada said Saturday it is making progress in its investigation into the spill cause on farmland in Marshall County, near the North Dakota border, about 250 miles (402 kilometres) west of Minneapolis.

But the company did not elaborate on the cause. The company says additional equipment and workers continue to be dispatched to the site.

Company spokesman Terry Cunha said Sunday that about 150 people are now at the site. Cunha said a gravel road has been completed to handle heavy equipment.

Cunha said a drainage ditch near the leak was protected by a berm and not polluted by the spill. State officials earlier said they did not believe the spill has polluted any surface water bodies or drinking water systems. A drainage ditch is clearly visible in aerial footage taken by DroneBase on Friday.

Crews shut down the pipeline Thursday after discovering the leak.

TransCanada says the leak is under control and there is no significant environmental impact or threat to the public.

Nebraska regulators vote Monday on a proposed Keystone XL route, an expansion that also would be operated by TransCanada.