Contaminated Dirt from Oil Spill is Being Sent to Nebraska

By Gordon Hopkins Contaminated dirt from the site of the Keystone Pipeline oil leak that occurred in December of 2022, in Kansas, is being transported into Nebraska and through Jefferson County.TC Energy, the company formerly known as TransCanada Corporation, operates the 2,687-mile Keystone Pipeline System that transports up to 622,000 barrels of crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to the Midwest and the Gulf Coast. On December 7, 2022, a leak of the pipeline released an estimated 12,937 barrels of oil to Mill Creek, near Washington, Kansas.Earlier this week, FJN reported that TC Energy is hauling dirt from a dig site where the company is preparing for the construction of three operational storage tanks located at TC Energy’s existing Steele City Pump Station across the county line and to the spill site in Kansas.Steele City is a key junction for the pipeline.FJN has since learned that trucks are also coming back into Nebraska, carrying oil-contaminated dirt from the leak site.Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock recently said, “They are literally running a hundred trucks a day over that road.”Schoenrock spoke to Marlon Hopkins, TC Energy Construction Manager, who confirmed that trucks are bringing dirt into Nebraska. Schoenrock said, “They're taking contaminated dirt from the spill site out and they're taking new dirt from the what they own their fields particularly that new dirt back to the spill site, so the dirt is going both ways.”ContaminantsA complication of the cleanup is the nature of the spill which consists of “diluted bitumen.” This has been confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).According to the American Petroleum Institute, “One of the types of crude oil derived from the Canadian oil sands is bitumen, a heavy, sour oil. Bitumen would not flow through a pipeline efficiently, so it is mixed with diluents to be readied for pipeline transportation as diluted bitumen, or ‘dilbit.’ Diluents are usually natural gas condensate, naphtha or a mix of other light hydrocarbons.”Bitumen doesn’t float on water the way crude oil does, making recovery of the oil more difficult.Why is the Dirt Coming to Nebraska?According to the EPA, the dirt is being taken to Pheasant Point Landfill in Bennington in Douglas County, northwest of Omaha. In addition, other oily solid waste, such as booms, protective clothing, absorbent pads, and other items, are being disposed of at the landfill.A representative of the EPA told FJN, “Oil-impacted soil, once excavated, is stockpiled on-scene. From there, laboratory analysis is performed to provide the landfill with a waste profile. This analysis has determined it as not being hazardous.”The EPA also noted, “Other than the analysis, there is no processing taking place before being sent to the landfill.”FJN has requested a copy of the lab report.As to why the dirt is going to the Pheasant Point Landfill, the EPA said, “Landfills have discretion on whether or not they wish to receive waste, Pheasant Point Landfill accepted the waste.”

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