Can TransCanada ever do math right? They underestimated the risk of spills on their Keystone tar sands oil pipeline; now they’ve had to multiply up their initial estimate of the Keystone spillage near Freeman by a factor of 90:
TransCanada has significantly increased the estimated amount of the Keystone oil leak near Freeman, South Dakota.
The company said on Thursday, that they estimate a potential volume of 400 barrels. The earlier estimate was spillage of only 187 gallons.
A spokesman says on-site crews continue to work around the clock to try to determine where the leak is coming from. The crews have excavated more than 100 feet of pipeline [Mark Russo, “Keystone Oil Leak Estimate Dramatically Rises,” KELO-AM, 2016.04.07].
Maybe that’s why TransCanada at first asked the Federal Aviation Administration to impose a no-fly zone over the spill site (three-mile radius, 2000 feet up)—their engineers apparently have a hard enough time concentrating on their math without the distraction of noisy airplanes overhead.
Eager reader MD provides this text of the FAA no-fly notice:
!FDC 6/4686 ZMP SD..AIRSPACE MENNO,SD..TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS WI AN AREA DEFINED AS 3 NM RADIUS OF 431422N/0972731W (SIOUX FALLS VORTAC FSD221038.5) SFC-2000FT AGL CHEMICAL SPILL. PURSUANT TO 14 CFR SECTION 91.137(A)(1) TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS ARE IN EFFECT. ONLY RELIEF AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS UNDER DIRECTION OF FAA ARE AUTHORIZED IN THE AIRSPACE. FAA TELEPHONE 651-463-5580 IS IN CHARGE OF ON SCENE EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIVITY. MINNEAPOLIS /ZMP/ ARTCC TELEPHONE 651-463-5580 IS THE FAA COORDINATION FACILITY. 1604042300-1604080500
The FAA pulled the no-fly zone Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. after determining it was not needed. Evidently TransCanada also had a hard time counting the number of relief aircraft it would need to clean up their oil spill (hint: the answer is zero).
16,800 gallons is 400 barrels. That’s 0.07% of the Keystone pipeline’s daily 550,000-barrel capacity, or the amount of oil that can flow through the pipeline in 63 seconds.
TransCanada still hasn’t told us what happened, but TransCanada assures us “the leak is being controlled and there is no significant environmental impact and no threat to public safety.” I hope that conclusion is based on something other than their math.
Update 18:02 CDT: My inbox fields comment from two organizations that helped spare us the grief of Keystone XL and are dismayed to see Keystone fouling our land:
Statement by Indigenous Environmental Network Campaign Organizer, Dallas Goldtooth:
“This spill is heart-breaking. This is exactly the reason why we fought so hard against the Keystone XL pipeline and why we continue to fight against new pipeline projects, such as the Dakota Access. Our waters, lands, and communities cannot continue to be the sacrifice zones for Big Oil’s game for more money. We pray for the land and waters surrounding this spill site, and we hope that our elected leaders understand the safest way we can prevent such accidents is for us to Keep Fossil Fuels In The Ground.”
Statement by Dakota Rural Action:
“We continue to be dismayed by the problems coming to light as this disaster unfolds. That Keystone I could spill over 400 barrels of tar sands crude without being detected by TransCanada should give regulators serious pause about the company’s ability to safely operate this pipeline. South Dakota’s farmers and ranchers should know they can maintain their family operations without threat of bursting pipelines and oil spills. Our land and water are too valuable for pipelines. We will keep fighting Keystone XL and Dakota Access to prevent more of this kind of disaster from happening in the future.”
Well, it could’ve been worse………………………..
This story of the spill being 400 barrels rather than 4 barrels was broke by the RT Network. The RT Newscast at 3:00 CDT included coverage of the Keystone spill as well as important news coming out of the Standing Rock Reservation on their effort to stop the Dakota Access pipeline from receiving a permit to cross the Missouri River. The six minute youtube video’s link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYl68gnHW1I.
TransCanada is blaming the discrepancy between 4 barrels and 400 barrels on poor mathefication.
Has our esteemed Governor or Congressional delegation issued a statement on any of this yet?
By the way, everybody, Paul told me about this story before Google did. Thanks, Paul!
But wait—RT? Paul! What’re you doing watching Vladimir Putin’s news channel? Are you getting money from offshore companies in the Panama Papers? ;-)
helicopters flying over methane leaks, monitoring them in the oil patch, is in the news now, npr.
oh, more so TC’s debate skills, cory:)
scott, naw, dan burish did. daugaard is not a scientist.
That said, Paul, I love hearing a guy with a Russian accent covering South Dakota news. RT should fly him into Sioux Falls to do live coverage!
Seriously, that RT video was a pretty good report, complete with Cindy Myers’s pictures and commentary. In one of Myers’s photos, I see what looks like 8 porta-potties on the work site. TransCanada said they have 100 workers on site. OSHA regs for construction sites say you need 1 toilet seat and one urinal for every 40 workers if you have between 20 and 200 workers, or one of each for every 50 workers if you have 200+ workers on site. Hmmm… 8 outhouses would be enough for 400 workers. Did TransCanada miscount again?
Wow, wonder what else is in the oil. It may not be a huge spill but I wouldn’t it in my house.
Stevie Wonder saw this one coming.
Wouldn’t want it in my house.
Rep. Garamendi is talking basic responsibility. But if I’m reading the roll calls right, his amendment, rolled into a motion to recommit, failed on a straight party-line vote, with every Republican in the room, including our Rep. Kristi Noem, saying that making TransCanada pay for its messes is too much responsibility for our corporate Canadian friends to bear.
From Madville Times Jan 16, 2015
Have there been any pronouncements from the SD ‘build the pipeline’ contingent at the state or national level?
This reminds me of the pipeline oil spill into the Kalamazoo River. It began with a modest number and kept climbing to terrific proportions. I hope it isn’t the case this time but it is sounding very familiar.
We need legislators who will stand up to the fossil fuel industry rather than cater to them.
They can build a pipeline like this with all the engineering challenges but they can’t do pretty simple math? A 3 mile no-fly zone at the drop of a hat by the FAA? It’s no wonder the public has no confidence in the industry or government.
If they haven’t found the leak yet that means they are still digging. The spill quantity is going to get higher. The reason they can’t be sure how much leaked here is because at any given time they have multiple leaks that have not been located. They know how much less product arrives at the destination than what they shipped, but they don’t know how much was leaked at this particular site.
Now that Freeman farmer is wishing he hadn’t settled based upon 187 gallons leaked in a 300 square foot area – as the company initially told him.
Cory, da, I also like the Russian accent drifting over the South Dakota prairie.
I like RT because I don’t hear the name Trump mentioned like I do on the non-Russkie networks.
Dosvedanya!
Rorschach, I like the idea of the Freeman farmer accepting a settlement based on a 187 gallon spill. Funny.
Cory, the RT reporter, Alexey Yaroshevsky, who did today’s story also did a three day report for the Ed Schultz Show from the Standing Rock Reservation about three weeks ago on the Dakota Access wanting to bore under the Missouri River. This story is just beginning. You will probably see RT in Sioux Falls soon. If not there then at least at Ft. Yates. Probably closer for you anyhow.
Don’t worry, nothing behind this curtain of crap.
Where’s Daniel? Are we still just a bunch of drama queens? Get skeptical.
Whats mike round think of this Saw nothing on the war college either.
If I know an oil company 400 barrels is still not telling the truth. Its probably closer to 4000 barrels and that might be a low estimate. 400 barrles travels in about one minute in the pipeline to one estimate I saw. This is super scary for South Dakota and the costs of contamination might be in the billions. Will people be held accountable for endangering the lives of people in the state of South Dakota?
What if the farmer had gone on vacation? He’s the one who caught it.
If the farmer is on vacation, no doubt the union would be covering it all with an adequately qualified replacement farmer.
Why do they resist detection technology?: TransCanada Corp., which says Keystone XL will be the safest pipeline ever built, isn’t planning to use infrared sensors or fiber-optic cables to detect spills along the system’s 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) path to Texas refineries from fields in Alberta.
Pipeline companies have been slow to adopt new leak detection technology, including infrared equipment on helicopters flying 80 miles an hour or acoustic sensors that can identify the sound of oil seeping from a pinhole-sized opening. Instead of tools that can find even the smallest leaks, TransCanada will search for spills using software-based methods and traditional flyovers and surveys.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-06-17/keystone-xl-pipeline-shuns-high-tech-oil-spill-detectors
Even they don’t work according this article: An investigation of pipeline accident reports from the last ten years has revealed that the much touted leak detection systems employed by pipeline companies only catch one out of twenty spills. The InsideClimate New article by Lisa Song illustrates an alarming disconnect between industry rhetoric and reality when it comes to detecting leaks on pipelines. Not only do pipeline leak detection systems miss nineteen out of twenty spills, they miss four out of five spills larger than 42,000 gallons.
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/anthony-swift/pipeline-leak-detection-systems-miss-19-out-20-spills
When the oil train wrecks you know where the spill is and how much. A better alternative than underground pipes not visible to the naked eye.
My good friend Lar, were he here to help us solve this problem, might suggest that transporters might solve this.
With the right sort of Heisenberg (not Heidelberger) compensators removing uncertainty from the subatomic measurements and the right pattern buffers enabling a degree of leeway in the process, perhaps overseen by the same fellows working on the Buffalo Commons, I think we could transport oil where ever we need it. Why hasn’t the Bernie fellow thought of this?
Happy Camper, you just read my mind on the leak detection technology. I thought the pipeline companies would be using modern methods to catch these leaks. I guess its a 20th century product and they use 20th century technology to transport and monitor it.
Because like duh it’s about money. Trains are more expensive and kill when they crash. Technology is expensive so in an unregulated environment….
Is it possible that the TransCanada engineers went to the same educational institute as the Corps of Engineers personnel that failed to predict or prepare for the 2011 Missouri River flood?…the Lego Land Skool of Engineering.
I personally doubt that 4 barrels of oil would have pooled to the top of the ground as deep as the pipeline is buried…400 barrels sounds more plausible but may be missing a ‘0’ depending on the size of the leak and length of time of the leak. Has anyone called Bejing?
You could probably dump four barrels of oil in my soil and might not even notice it. Especially if during the summer when the ground was covered with cracks. If I was careful I could dump four barrels down a crack and then challenge anyone to find it.
TransCanada has insulted our intelligence by claiming only a four barrel spill. Those of us who have had to deal with TransCanada the past eight years know them for the liars that they are. The rest of the state should also be able to figure them out now.
And to think they wanted to build that oil pipeline across the largest water aquifer in America. We had better wake up and take a stand. Let it not be said and to our own shame….water, water, everywhere but a safe drop to drink. Who is gonna stand up for the people…No more trans continental pipelines! Some things are worth more than money. Greed is a disease so blinding and powefult it can spread and destroy even a great people. Think.
If they are still digging, that means they are hitting contamination. The leak could have been doing that for some time. I think the poster who said 4,000 brls of crude was still off by 10. This is going to be a big one. Start counting the trucks going out with contamination vs the trucks coming back with clean fill. They have to be taking this contaminated soil to a place that will accept it. Think of it going into the Missouri River and how the Walleye will taste basted in Bakken.
The same crooks and liars that want to bring more of the poison from Canada, that want to keep fracking to contaminate the drinking water, continue their drive to stop renewable energy in its tracks. The customers of electric car maker, Tesla, now get subsidies for the purchase of their auto’s. The Koch’s are lobbying hard to eliminate that so that the average car purchaser will not be able to afford the vehicle. If we put panels on our homes, we could cut these guys out of the picture in short order. http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2016/24662 while powering our electric vehicles.
Pipelines are aging just like me. The older we get the more fragile we become. Take a look in the mirror and tell me you are just as good now as you were 20 years ago. When you honestly do that, you realize the crappy shape these pipelines are now in. They may not all have ED, but they are damn close.
I thought the pipeline companies would be using modern methods to catch these leaks.
They do,Darin. They sit around drinking coffee watching buzzards try to catch the scent of rotting mea……wait, that is for natural gas leaks. My bad.
Think of it going into the Missouri River and how the Walleye will taste basted in Benzene +. I fixed it for you,Jerry. This isn’t light,sweet crud-this is dilbit-diluted bitumen- with yummy carcinogenic chemicals mixed in to make it flow out of a ruptured pipeline like nobody’s business. Which TC is trying to prove with armed guards.
Paul.you.Sir, must be a saint. If I had to deal with these asshats, I would prolly exhibit a more malevolent intent towards them.
There was a spill of Bakken crude a couple of years ago near Tioga ND from a Tesoro pipeline. As far as I know they still are cleaning up the soil. To remove the oil they run the contaminated soil through huge burners fueled by natural gas. They had at least two of these. Natural gas to power them is brought in by a pipeline. Last I heard they were still working on it. They had to remove contaminated soil down to 50 feet. Don’t quote me but I think the leak was about 100,000 gallons. The leak was found when the farmer was combining his wheat and the combine tires started spinning.
Cleaning up a spill such as the one in Freeman is no small matter. Businesses in Freeman and Menno are going to love TransCanada. This spill will create business for some time. I have always called TransCanada a bunch of liars. Not this time I guess. Pipelines DO bring business to small communities.
The auto industry said catalytic convertors would kill the industry, then mandated fuel efficiency, then air bags. You can see the mountains again in southern California. You can breathe without lungs burning. How many lives have been saved from air bags? Necessity mothers invention they ain’t gonna do it on their own if it affects bottom line. They’ll say it’s impossible corporations have no conscious just profit motive and face it most people care about stock price and 401k performance. People (including TIAA-CREF or whoever) don’t intentionally buy losers.
They say that now it is 16,800 gallons or so. Before it is over, it will be at least twice that much. The State of South Dakota will probably not want to confirm this nor will they want to make sure the ground is clear as they would then have to answer to why they are so willing to allow this rape to continue of the land.
Yeah Jerry. Glory be. Where’s the EPA?
Breaking news AP & ABC: TransCanada: 16,800 Gallons of Oil Leaked in South Dakota
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/transcanada-16800-gallons-oil-leaked-south-dakota-38231973
In regards to the establishment of the no-fly zone… I spent 12 years in Emergency Management and have dealt with the FAA regarding no-fly zones. One of the reasons a no-fly zone is established and a NOTAM is issued is when temporary obstacles (such as cranes) are either erected or may need to be erected near airfields. Once it is established that no cranes (or other tall equipment) is needed, the NOTAM is canceled and the restriction is lifted on the airspace. My parents used to own a farm a few miles west of the spill site, so I’m very familiar with the area. Turkey Ridge Airport (more of a small country airstrip really, but still considered an “airport” by FAA standards) sits about 15 miles east of the spill site, which is why the NOTAM was probably initially issued. In this case, my guess is the emergency response plan called for the potential of a crane to lift sections of pipe out of the ground. Once it was established cranes would not be needed, the NOTAM was cancelled. I responded to a building collapse a few years ago which was 12 miles from a small-town airstrip. We had to call in a crane to clear the debris and the FAA closed the airspace around the scene until we were done with the crane and it was off-site, at which time the no-fly zone was cancelled.
D. Bice, The spokesperson for TransCanada said that TransCanada made the request for the no-fly zone to the FAA “in order to clear the airspace for surveillance by cleanup crews.” Argus Leader, April 7, pg. C1 It had nothing to do with the possibility of needing a big crane at the cleanup site.
Really, TransCanada couldn’t do its own aerial survey without clearing out every other plane in the area? Sounds like it is a lot more likely that they were trying to control the information and the narrative about this spill. If you have nothing to hide, why try to clamp down on the information?
Thanks for the clarification, Darin. Please note, I wasn’t trying to stick up for TransCanada. I saw where you asked about it and offered a possible scenario based upon my own past experience with the FAA.
good info. thx
Dear bloggers,
Something happened after Lakota Voice posted the XL oil spill SD news.
The website and facebook page of LV is now infected with a JS/Axpergle security exploit malware program. Click it and good spyware will detect and remove. If not?
Perry—weird! Any evidence on how that malware got in? Has the webmaster been able to clear the mess from the server?
TransCanada says they have found the leak. “Brian Walsh, an environmental scientist with the South Dakota Department of Natural Resources, said the impact seems to be limited to soil in and around the pipeline.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/transcanada-says-found-source-keystone-185651999.html?ref=gs
I had a couple reporters today ask questions that were of a political nature about the Keystone spill. They asked what South Dakota political leaders have been saying about the spill. They knew the answer before they asked the question. They know that our congressional delegation, governor, and other party leaders have said nothing about the spill. They just wanted confirmation from a local citizen.
Exactly Paul Seamans the silence is deafening. Doesn’t fit their outlook and agenda so they just look away.
Where’s the beef? What is former Guv Roundsteak on the spill? How about the other get paid to do nothings? Has Daugaard said anything?
Van Gerpen, Peterson and Schoenfish have gone mute. Way to look out for your distrct!
One might consider the story of Mr. Perry a cautionary tale. If this Trans Canada company is out putting insidious computers into blogs that talk about them, we could all be next. I am having some problems with my granddaughter’s computer and she’s not here to fix it so I wonder if I’m already being malwared and I never went to Mr. Perry’s web. Are we all safe here if Trans Canada is coming, one must ask.
The Republican Party has been fomenting anger and discontent in the base of its own party for years. The mechanism through which this hate has been disseminated has been the network of extremist media of right-wing talk radio and the Fox News Channel, which is essentially talk radio transposed onto television.
One central theme is a fierce opposition to government….
throughout the land over this enormous megaphone. Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Ben Shapiro, Dana Loesch, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, to name a few.
(thune, noem, rounds, jackley, daugaard, tidemann…ect, in lock-step.)
And make no mistake, spewing hate has a significant impact upon society. It is the equivalent of modern-day propaganda where the population is barraged with a stream of consistent messaging….
One central theme is a fierce opposition to government….
Another big theme is fear and victimization. “They,” are about to take away your rights. Your freedom is about to disappear. Your religious liberties will be stripped away, you won’t be able to make your own healthcare decisions. Free choice will be gone. Your children will suffer.
Another common theme is the fear of foreigners, or outsiders.
And some “liberal” is to blame for all of this wreckage.
(Obama? my gentle genius, top of the class, masters in engineering, father’s sibling WWII Seabee, professed near death to having become a “Fox News Addict”. my impertinent response to “what about Glenn Beck?” is one I will forever regret seeing the hurt that registered after I said “everyone knows Glenn Beck is a joke”).
http://www.salon.com/2016/04/08/spreading_hate_has_backfired_on_right_wing_media_how_fox_news_unwittingly_destroyed_the_republican_party/
The extremist right-wing network of Fox News and talk radio had built up an audience that could easily be exploited for political support. Even though the extremist media network was fomenting anger and hatred that is disastrous for society overall, the network could also be used to deliver political votes to Republican politicians.
An unholy alliance was formed. The Republican Party would allow the extremist right-wing network to promulgate its destructive propaganda throughout society in order to generate its enormous profits, and in exchange, the network would direct its audience to vote for the Republican Party.
Fox itself is one of the most valuable brands in the world with sales of over $13 billion. And the tycoon behind Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, is personally worth $12 billion.
So for years and years, the extremist right-wing media network spewed out content full of anger, hate, and division. And Republican politicians jumped on the bandwagon.
(did you too? where did it happen? The Y? The country club? Church?)
The base of the Republican Party became a Frankenstein. This is the reason behind the rise of candidates like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
(“Machinegun bacon.”-ted cruz “I could shoot someone on 5th Ave.”-Donald trump)
The Republican Party has enjoyed its dance with the devil. Now it must pay the piper.
(be it apologizing here grudz, les, barry, and troy, for big oil, NRA, Rounds or Putin ect., ect., ect., blah blah blah)
id.
Dear bloggers,
Lakota Voice website blog started having problems about 72 hours after (blog owner) Ann Erika White Bird started posting Bakken pipeline news topics.
First a warning from MS IE11 web browser is, that “site certificate has been revoked”. Another 24 hours later, my real-time running security software ID’s, blocks and quarantines malware attack after going to LV website. Another 48 hours later, LV facebook has same malware signature and is successfully blocked and quarantined by security software.
I’m not sure if blog owner, Ann Erika is aware of this. She may be using a MAC laptop that could be infected with this malware. The malware being used, creates a back door to “steal user information” and then “destroys the operating system”.
Paul and others who have mentioned the absence of comment from Rounds, Thune, and Noem are onto an important point. I would think our leaders would take advantage of this opportunity to show up on the scene for a good photo op as they demonstrate their concern for the environment and their desire to ensure that our good corporate neighbor lives up to its promises to protect our land and water. Even from a pro-corporate side, this accident offers savvy pols a nice chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with their Big Oil supporters and assure the public that there’s nothing to worry about. Where are our leaders on this?
Marlboro Barbie and his faithful companero Rubber Stamp Rounds can’t blame hearings for M Garland as a reason not to comment on the spill. Grassley has officially stated there would be no hearings scheduled before July, at which time he will invoke the Thurmond Rule that says no justices get seated in the final six months of a lame duck Potus term.
Things at the Keystone 1 spill site are quieting down. The main activity taking place now is that a local contractor, Knodel, is hauling contaminated soil to a lot on the south edge of Freeman. How this soil will be decontaminated is unknown to me and how much soil will be hauled off is probably unknown by anybody. If TransCanada provides an estimate I doubt that many of us will believe it.
This whole spill episode has been a fortunate incident. It is reminder that an even larger spill can happen in the bottom of the Missouri River (think Dakota Access pipeline) or the Ogallala Aquifer (think major catastrophe). It also brought to light for many that TransCanada’s highly touted leak detection system will miss any leak that is under a certain pressure level. Only 5% of leaks are detected by these SCADA systems. The other 95% are detected by humans.
Master, I suppose wingnuts could claim it was good for the local economy stating that all these big hungry brutes had to be fed and housed for the duration.
There will be more and bigger spills in the near future. Judging from the way the good people reacted,the next spills will prolly be kept more secret.
Paul, was the spill on cropground and if so, what is the quality of replaced dirt? Ex farmer would like to know.
Paul, I share Mike’s curiosity: has TransCanada also brought in new topsoil to replace what they had to dig out to restore the land to its original state? Have they brought in the new trees they had to clear for their equipment on Mr. Heckenlaible’s land?
Probably no more than 9 yards right now with the frost out per dump truck. Add the dump truck loads and you should be able to figure the replacement. Big side dumps, count the axles to see.