TC Energy Constructs Storage Tanks At Steele City Pump Station

By Gordon HopkinsDespite cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline, TC Energy, the company formerly known as TransCanada Corporation, continues to have a presence in Jefferson County and has begun work on a new project.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. A representative with TC Energy advised FJN, “All activities will occur within TC Energy owned land. The area of development is approximately 30 acres. In support of our commitment to being in the communities where we live and work, our team has engaged with potentially impacted stakeholders and landowners, including on local benefit opportunities.” One of the first acts of newly-elected President Joe Biden was to revoke the company’s pipeline permit.The President signed the Executive Order his first day in office, on January 20, 2021.The project had previously been blocked by former President Barack Obama in 2015. President Donald Trump later reversed that decision, issuing a presidential permit for the project in 2017.The nearly 1,200-mile proposed pipeline would have run from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, where it would join an existing pipe. There is already an existing pipeline, also called Keystone. The purpose of the new pipeline was to boost export capacity from Canada to oil refineries in the United States. The company officially terminated its road haul agreement with Jefferson County at a meeting with county commissioners on March 1 of this year. Although not a surprise, it still came as a disappointment to county commissioners. Board chair Mark Schoenrock told representatives of TC Energy at that meeting, “Well I would say, both as a county commissioner and as a private citizen, I was, you know, disappointed to hear that news. We’re all here very supportive of the XL Pipeline.”Regarding this new project, the TC Energy Rep indicated, “The primary objective of the additional facilities is to enhance the operations of the existing Keystone System. It will reduce our power requirements and GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) footprint, as the facilities will enable us to reduce the flow rate on the eastern leg that delivers energy into the Midwest markets.”

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