Keystone+Spill+Likely+Caused+By+Construction+Damage,+Investigators+Say

Keystone Spill Likely Caused By Construction Damage, Investigators Say National Public Radio (NPR) November 29th, 2017 (Accessed November 30th, 2017) Provided Link: []

Summary: The cited article above was about a leak in the Keystone Pipeline. The leak was detected when the pipe had a drop in pressure early in the morning of November 16th. It was originally estimated that the pipeline leaked about 210,000 barrels of oil in the rural farmland area in the town Amherst, South Dakota. The pipe was thought to have leaked because it was operating at a much higher stress level, that of 80% than at the standard 72% that is normally accepted. This leak is so controversial because of the company, TransCanada is the same company that wants to build the Keystone XL Pipeline that caused a backlash from several groups last year. These groups included environmental activist groups, Native American tribe groups, everyday local citizens and even invoked protests in the area where construction began. Many fear and wonder if this is a precursor to any events that may happen if the Keystone XL Pipeline were to come in the area soon.

Relation to Class: In AP Environmental Science we talk about oil spills and leaks in relation to the numerous negative effects it can have on the environment holistically. Miller in particular talks about the dangers of oil spills when they occur in aquatic ecosystems, while the article speaks on an issue with terrestrial systems and the leak understanding the larger implications through analysis with the aquatic version can be incredibly valuable. Crude Petroleum is oil as it comes from the ground while Refined Petroleum is the processed petroleum products that come from oil refineries throughout the world (Miller 546). Both types are very toxic to health and in particular crude oil; when crude oil is spilled out in aquatic ecosystems the result can be disastrous as seen in the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. In these events the crude oil is incredibly difficult to clean up, scientist have to use both Mechanical Methods such as feather filled pillows that soak up oil on beaches and shallow waters, and Chemical Methods like coagulants that cause the oil to become thickened and stick to each other for easier management and clean up as it can float in clumps on the surface of water (Miller 547). Oil spills are very dangerous, and although we have methods to clean it up, ultimately Miller looks to note that prevention is the best strategy.

Opinion: In my own personal opinion after learning more about the incredible dangerous of oils spills and the issues that stem from the transport of oil, especially on the large scale I think it would be best to keep these operations small. Why would people want a bigger and longer version of the Keystone XL Pipeline when it is already being shown that the smaller version has the potential to leak. I feel like that this instance that is happening in the article aforementioned above because it should be serving not only as a lesson but as a warning about what may be coming to the future. Luckily the spill that occurred here is manageable and hopefully will not cause an extremely large impact on the environment, but who is to say that the next one from the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline won’t create an Exxon Valdez like spill issue except on land? Ultimately I feel like we should all be taking in the pros and the cons of this situation so that we may make the best decision possible and come up with a solution that takes into account all the parties that are involved.

Environmental Law: Several years after the Exxon Valdez Oil Supertanker Spill the American government decided to pass The Oil Protection Act of 1990 which puts into place several regulations for supertankers so that the chances of another one having a very catastrophic spill go down drastically. This is really an important law when looking at oil spills in relation to pollution prevention rather than pollution cleanup as the best plan for looking at environmental issues is trying to ensure that they do not happen in the first place. This act looks to do just that by creating a set of guidelines about how the supertankers need to operate to keep oil spills from happening.

Image Citation The Keystone Pipeline snakes its way throughout the grassy prairies of the Midwest. Congressman J. Randy Forbes website

Article Citation: Kennedy, Merrit. “Keystone Spill Likely Caused By Construction Damage, Investigators Say.” ‘ National Public Radio, 29 Nov. 2017, []

Created By: Devan Wainright