Key facts
- Keystone Pipeline operator South Bow agreed to a $26.9 million civil penalty.
- The company will spend an additional $40 million on preventing future accidents.
- The settlement addresses violations of U.S. and Kansas clean water laws.
- The December 2022 spill released nearly 13,000 barrels of crude oil into a Kansas creek.
- Over 2,700 animals were harmed or killed as a result of the spill.
The operator of the Keystone Pipeline system, South Bow, has agreed to pay a $26.9 million civil penalty to the U.S. government to resolve allegations of violating clean water laws following a major oil spill in Kansas in December 2022. The company will also spend approximately $40 million on measures to prevent future accidents. The rupture released nearly 13,000 barrels of heavy crude oil into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, marking the largest onshore crude pipeline spill in the U.S. in nine years and causing harm or death to over 2,700 animals. South Bow will also pay Kansas more than $3 million for environmental restoration projects. An engineering report indicated that a bend in the pipeline where the spill occurred had been overstressed since its installation in 2010 due to improper soil compaction during construction. South Bow stated it proactively began cleanup efforts, which were completed in early 2024. TC Energy, the pipeline's builder, spun off South Bow as a separate firm in 2024.