"Approximately 383,000 gallons of crude oil have spilled into a North Dakota wetland this week in the latest leak from the Keystone Pipeline, fueling long-standing opposition to plans for the pipeline network’s extension.
With about half an Olympic swimming pool’s worth of oil covering roughly half an acre, the leak is among the largest in the state, said Karl Rockeman, who directs the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality’s division of water quality. But the spill does not appear to pose an immediate threat to public health, he added, saying that people do not live nearby and that the wetland is not a source of drinking water.
For environmental groups, though, the leak was further evidence that Canada-based pipeline owner TC Energy should not be allowed to build the controversial Keystone XL addition, which would stretch more than 1,000 miles from Alberta into the United States. The Trump administration approved the plan in 2017 after years of protests, but the project was blocked by a federal judge who called for further study on environmental impacts."
Hannah Knowles reports for the Washington Post October 31, 2019.
SEE ALSO:
"Keystone Pipeline Leaks Oil In Northeastern North Dakota" (AP)
"US State Department Oil Pipeline Review Doesn’t Ease Worries" (AP)
