WASHINGTON COUNTY — South Bow agreed to pay a $26.9 million civil penalty and spend an estimated $40 million on safety upgrades to resolve federal and state environmental claims stemming from the December 2022 Keystone Pipeline oil spill in Washington County, Kansas. The settlement also includes a payment of more than $3 million to the state of Kansas for environmental restoration projects.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice, and the state of Kansas accused South Bow of violating U.S. and state clean water laws. A proposed consent decree outlining the settlement was filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas and must be approved by a judge following a 30-day public comment period.

The spill occurred in December 2022 when the Keystone Pipeline ruptured in a creek running through a rural pasture in Washington County, approximately 150 miles northwest of Kansas City. Nearly 13,000 barrels of heavy crude oil were released, making it the largest onshore crude pipeline spill in the United States in the nine years prior to the incident. The volume of the 2022 spill surpassed the combined total of the previous 22 spills on the Keystone pipeline system.

According to a U.S. government complaint, more than 2,700 animals were harmed or killed by the spill. The complaint also stated that soil under the pipeline had been improperly compacted and that South Bow re-excavated the site in 2013 but did not replace the affected section of pipe. A May 2023 engineering consulting firm report found that a bend in the pipeline at the spill site had been overstressed since its installation in December 2010, a condition attributed to construction activity that altered the land around the pipe.

EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Jeffrey Hall described the spill’s impact, saying, “The oil spill blanketed land and water, rendering the waterway lifeless and useless and requiring extensive cleanup and remediation.” He added, “The substantial penalty reflects the seriousness of the environmental harm,” and stated, “This case demonstrates why the oil pipelines crossing our heartland must be maintained properly.” U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas Ryan Kriegshauser said, “This event had a massive impact on the state of Kansas.”

South Bow completed environmental remediation of the spill site in early 2024. No pipeline workers or area residents were injured in the spill, and public water supplies were not affected. TC Energy spun off South Bow as a separate company in 2024.

South Bow spokesperson Sara Hunter said, “We proactively launched our response to the spill before receiving formal directives from government officials, including comprehensive environmental remediation completed in February 2024.” She added, “Since the spill, the company has done more than 12,000 miles of pipeline inspections and 400 excavations to examine pipe and make repairs where necessary.” Hunter said the work “reflects our ongoing commitment to the safe, reliable operation of our pipeline system and to continuously strengthening pipeline integrity.”

Why It Matters

The 2,689-mile Keystone pipeline system transports Canadian tar sands oil to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas, making its integrity critical to regional energy infrastructure and environmental safety. Consent decrees like the one proposed in this case are commonly used by federal courts to enforce compliance with environmental regulations, including the Clean Water Act, the primary U.S. law governing water pollution.