Details Emerging About Oil-Contaminated Soil Come To Light

By Gordon HopkinsFJN has obtained more information about the nature of the oil-contaminated soil being shipped to Nebraska from the Keystone Pipeline oil spill site in Kansas and how it is being stored.TC Energy, the company formerly known as TransCanada Corporation, began shipping oil-contaminated soil and other solid wastes on January 17, 2023, to Pheasant Point Landfill in Bennington in Douglas County, northwest of Omaha. The route takes trucks hauling the waste through Jefferson County. According to County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock, TC Energy has spoken with Marlon Hopkins, TC Energy Construction Manager, who indicated the operation will likely continue for several more weeks.Contents of WasteTC Energy 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 into Mill Creek, near Washington, Kansas.A “Special Waste Disposal Request” from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Bureau of Waste management lists the hazardous materials contained in the waste as bitumen, hydrocarbon diluent, benzene and hydrogen sulfide.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.The Special Waste Disposal Request describes the toxicological properties of the waste, “Effects of Acute Exposure: Vapor may cause irritation of eyes, nose and throat, dizziness and drowsiness. Contact with skin may cause irritation and possibly dermatitis. Contact of liquid with eyes may cause severe irritation/burns.”The disposal request also notes, “Due to the presence of benzene, long term exposure may increase the risk of anemia and leukemia. Repeated skin contact may increase the risk of skin cancer.”Regarding hydrogen sulfide, the disposal request says, “Overexposure to hydrogen sulfide may cause dizziness, headache, nausea and possible unconsciousness and death.”Mitigating the RisksDespite the presence of benzene and hydrogen sulfide, a representative of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) 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 added. “Other than the analysis, there is no processing taking place before being sent to the landfill.”Not everyone is convinced the soil is safe. Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and founder of the advocacy group, Bold Nebraska, has been an outspoken critic of TC Energy for may year. She told FJN, “We are definitely concerned and find it hard to believe there is no hazardous elements to this contaminated soil.”FJN reached out to Waste Management (WM), the company that owns and operates Pheasant Point Landfill, and asked how the landfill will ensure these materials will not contaminate groundwater or the surrounding environment. A representative with WM responded, “WM’s Pheasant Point Landfill is designed to meet federal and the State of Nebraska regulations for landfills. The disposal area or “cells” are engineered with a composite liner (2-ft thick compacted clay and a 60-mil thickness of polyethylene geomembrane liner).”WM added, “This liner system along with a series of groundwater monitoring wells are part of the landfill permit requirements, which serve to protect wastes materials from impacting the groundwater and the surrounding environment. Pheasant Point landfill has a series of groundwater monitoring wells placed around the landfill. The monitoring wells are placed both up-gradient and down-gradient of the landfill. Up-gradient monitoring wells allows for monitoring of the quality of the groundwater before it reaches the landfill. The down-gradient wells allow for monitoring of the groundwater quality after it flows underneath the landfill.”How Much Waste is Coming to Nebraska?A WM approval form describes a “WM Regulatory Volume Limit” of 8,000 cubic yards of “crude impacted soil.” Another approval form states a limit of 1,000 of “crude impact oily solids.”However, according to a representative of WM, approximately 16,500 cubic yards of waste has already been shipped to the landfill. FJN has reached out to both WM and TC Energy for an explanation of the discrepancy. As of press time, no response was received.Oversight of TransportationFJN has had difficulty determining what agency is responsible for oversight of hauling the waste from Kansas to Nebraska. Kleeb said, “The EPA told us the DEQ (aka NDEE) will now monitor the process.”However, a public information officer with the Nebraska Department of Energy and the Environment (NDEE) told FJN, “NDEE does not regulate the transport of solid waste. The department would encourage you to reach out to the Kansas Highway Patrol (Motor Carrier Inspectors) and Nebraska State Patrol (Carrier Enforcement).”Both the Kansas Highway Patrol and Nebraska Highway Patrol denied having any involvement. A public information officer with the Kansas State patrol said, “(I)t is up to the shipper to make the determination regarding hazardous materials for regulation by the EPA.”

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