As emergency teams worked to clean up in nearly freezing weather and investigators looked for signs of what caused the spill, locals living near the scene of the biggest U.S. oil pipeline leak in a decade accepted the bustle and smell, Reuters reports.
Tractor trucks hauled ground mats, lights, and generators to a muddy spot outside of this rural village, where a strong oil odor pervaded the air.
The pipeline operator TC Energy announced on Friday that it was considering restarting the line, which transports 622,000 barrels of oil per day to refineries and export hubs in the United States. It did not specify the breach’s specifics or the time frame for starting over on the damaged part.
Federal inspectors searched the site to establish what caused the breach in the 36-inch (91-cm) pipeline, while environmental experts from as far afield as Mississippi assisted with the clean-up.
According to sources cited by Bloomberg News, TC Energy plans to resume a pipeline piece that transports oil to Illinois on Saturday and a pipeline segment that transports oil to Cushing on December 20. These facts have not been confirmed by Reuters.
Since the pipeline’s opening in 2010, there have been three spills involving thousands of barrels of petroleum. The pipeline was shut down for roughly two weeks following a prior Keystone leak.
According to TC Energy, which had around 100 employees directing the cleanup and containment activities, the US Environmental Protection Agency was providing oversight and monitoring, according to EPA spokeswoman Kellen Ashford.
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA), a U.S. regulatory body, said that the business shut the pipeline seven minutes after getting a leak detection alarm.
According to Randy Hubbard, the Washington County Emergency Management Coordinator, the U.S. oil pipeline leak has not put the water supply in danger or required households to leave.
To stop oil from spreading farther downstream into a creek after it had spilled, workers rapidly established a containment area.
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