Trump Administration Reaches $26M Settlement With Keystone Pipeline Over 2022 Spill

The Trump administration revealed on Friday that it has finalized a settlement regarding a major 2022 oil spill in Kansas originating from the Keystone Pipeline, a highly debated infrastructure project that President Donald Trump has actively supported.

South Bow LP, the entity operating the pipeline, has consented to pay a civil penalty of $26 million and invest an additional $40 million into infrastructure upgrades designed to prevent subsequent leaks, according to a joint announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice.

Furthermore, the corporation has agreed to provide $3 million to the state of Kansas, funds designated specifically for the ecological restoration of the areas devastated by the leak, the statement noted.

The pipeline suffered a rupture in December 2022, discharging in excess of 540,000 gallons of crude oil into a local waterway and adjacent agricultural lands. This 2022 incident ranks as the most massive spill in the history of the Keystone pipeline, resulting in the death or illness of approximately 2,700 animals.

A thick layer of crude oil, measuring an inch in depth, coated the entire width of the creek for a distance of 3.5 miles downstream from the point of the rupture, as detailed in a press release issued by the federal government.

This environmental disaster inflicted a “massive impact on the state of Kansas,” asserted Ryan Kriegshauser, the US Attorney for the District of Kansas, in a public statement.

The imposition of this “substantial penalty” reflects the “seriousness of the environmental harm” caused, explained Jeffery Hall, the EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, in a statement. “This case demonstrates why the oil pipelines crossing our heartland must be maintained properly. The oil spill blanketed land and water, rendering the waterway lifeless and useless and requiring extensive cleanup and remediation.”

For years, energy developers alongside environmental and indigenous advocacy groups have engaged in fierce debates over a proposed controversial expansion of the current pipeline, recognized as Keystone XL, since its initial proposal in 2008.

TC Energy, the developer behind Keystone XL, officially canceled the project in 2021 following former President Joe Biden's decision to revoke its necessary permits. Trump has since sought to resurrect the Keystone XL initiative, granting a presidential permit this past April, although the ultimate fate of the project remains highly uncertain.