100 Trucks A Day Using Road Between
Steele City, Kansas Oil Spill Site

By Gordon HopkinsThere is an unexpected victim of the recent oil spill in the Mill Creek area, near Washington, Kansas: Jefferson County roads.On December 7, 2022, a leak of the Keystone pipeline released an estimated 12,937 barrels of oil to Mill Creek.A facility at Steele City is a key junction for the pipeline. Last year, TC Energy, owner of the pipeline, began work on a new project in Jefferson County. Preparations are underway to support the construction of three operational storage tanks located at TC Energy’s existing Steele City Pump Station. The bulk of the project is expected to be completed before the end of 2024. Dirt from that project is being transported to the spill site in Kansas.Jefferson County Commissioners discussed the matter with the Highway department at a meeting on Feb. 7. Commissioner Mark Schoenrock estimated at least 100 trucks per day.“They load those trucks and then they go down our road, south of Steel City down to where the spill occurred,” said Schoenrock. “It will destroy our road, you know, because, I mean, they literally run 100 trucks a day on that road. It might even be more.”The convoy of dirt is likely to continue for some time. Schoenrock spoke to Marlon Hopkins, TC Energy Construction Manager, on Feb. 6. Schoenrock said, “And I said, you must be close to the end of it and he said, ‘Oh no. We’re going to be doing that yet for a couple more months.’”Both the commissioners and the county highway department expect that TC Energy will repair the road. According to Terry Blas of the county highway department, the county has a road haul agreement with the company.“My understanding with it was,” said Blas, “They tear something up, it will go back to what it was or better.”Blas added, “They haven’t treated us wrong yet.”Commissioner Gale Pohlmann concurred, “I’m sure they’ll take care of it for us. I’m not worried about that.”Cause of SpillTC Energy has released the initial finding of the investigation into the cause of the oil leak on into Mill Creek, near Washington, Kansas, and approximately 20 miles south of Steele City, on December 7, 2022.The blame is being placed on a weld flaw and bending stress.TC Energy issued a statement on Feb. 9, “We have advanced our root cause investigation with the completion of an independent mechanical and metallurgical analysis of the failed pipe. The analysis concludes that the failure occurred due to a combination of factors, including bending stress on the pipe and a weld flaw at a pipe to fitting girth weld that was completed at a fabrication facility.”TC Energy also noted, “The metallurgical analysis identified no issues with the strength or material properties of the pipe or manufactured fitting. The pipeline was operating within its operational design and within the pipeline design maximum operating pressure.”Per TC Energy, the investigation is continuing, “Although welding inspection and testing were conducted within applicable codes and standards, the weld flaw led to a crack that propagated over time as a result of bending stress fatigue, eventually leading to an instantaneous rupture. The cause of the bending stress remains under investigation as part of the broader third-party root cause failure analysis.”

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