Trump admin strikes $26 million settlement deal with Keystone Pipeline operator for 2022 oil spill

By Ella Nilsen, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration announced Friday it has reached a settlement over a major 2022 oil spill in Kansas from the Keystone Pipeline, a controversial pipeline that President Donald Trump has taken interest in.

South Bow LP, the owner of the pipeline, agreed to pay a $26 million civil penalty and make $40 million in fixes to prevent future pipeline spills, the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice said in a joint statement.

The company also agreed to pay the state of Kansas $3 million, money that will be put toward restoring the environment damaged by the spill, the statement said.

The pipeline ruptured in December 2022, spilling more than 540,000 gallons of oil into a creek and nearby farmland. The 2022 spill was the largest ever from the Keystone pipeline, killing or sickening 2,700 animals.

A crude oil slick an inch thick covered the width of the creek for 3.5 miles downstream of the initial pipeline rupture, according to a news release from the federal government.

The event had a “massive impact on the state of Kansas,” US Attorney for the District of Kansas Ryan Kriegshauser said in a statement.

The “substantial penalty” is due to the “seriousness of the environmental harm,” EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Jeffery Hall said 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.”

Energy developers and environmental and indigenous groups have battled over a controversial extension of the existing pipeline, known as Keystone XL, since it was first proposed in 2008.

Keystone XL developer TC Energy terminated the project in 2021, after former President Joe Biden revoked its permit. Trump has attempted to revive Keystone XL, signing a presidential permit in April, but the project’s future is uncertain.

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