TC Energy Executives View Damaged Road

By Gordon HopkinsOfficials with Jefferson County met with representatives from TC Energy to see firsthand damage done to a county road by an estimated 100 trucks a day hauling dirt between Kansas and Nebraska.TC Energy was represented by Bob Baumgartner, Liquids Operations Environmental Services Manager from Houston, Texas; Nat Barker, Land Manager, Calgary, Alberta; and Marlon Hopkins, Steele City Construction Manager.TC Energy, the company formerly known as TransCanada, owns and operates the Keystone Pipeline. An oil leak dumped an estimated 12,937 barrels of crude oil into Mill Creek, three miles east of Washington, Kansas, and approximately 20 miles south of Steele City, on December 7, 2022.Clean soil from property owned by TC Energy in Steele City is being taken to the site of the oil spill to replace the oil-contaminated soil that has been removed and shipped to a landfill in Douglas County. According to a statement from TC Energy, “We are transporting additional soil to the site to support backfilling excavated areas and the management of temporary berms at the Milepost 14 site. The soil is sourced from a separate facility, and testing has validated it as a clean source of subsoil and topsoil.”Steele City is a key junction for the Keystone Pipeline.The trucks transporting dirt back and forth on the nearly three miles of road between Steele City and the Kansas border have done considerable damage. The operation began in January and is not likely to be concluded any time soon, according to County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock, “I talked to Marlon last week. He estimates probably they’re going to be keeping the same level of activity through June.”It is the position of commissioners that simply repairing the road is not sufficient. The road will need to be replaced. To that end, commissioners approved a design proposal for a new road. Speece Lewis Engineers will complete preliminary and final designs for the project, dubbed the “South Steele City Project.”After the meeting, Schoenrock told FJN, “I believe the meeting with TC Energy went well today. We discussed the good partnership Jefferson County has had with TC Energy for many years and want to continue that into the future. We discussed we recognize the necessity of the high volume of truck traffic for them to accomplish their clean up and remediation mission from the pipeline oil spill but that our county road was not designed or built to accommodate that and that we are going to have to replace the entire road as the base has been destroyed and it is not repairable. They will have a high volume of traffic probably through the summer and then it should be tapering off after that. We and Washington County committed to doing our best to keep the roads serviceable until we can get them replaced. We discussed with them that the road is very important to many people for agriculture, ranching, and other economic development.”The estimated costs are $3 million for Jefferson County and $3.5 million for Washington County.Schoenock said, “We asked for their commitment to back us to get these roads replaced and they gave us that commitment.”The Steele City village board was represented by Tammy Katz and Megan Southan.The road on the other side of the state line is also suffering considerable wear and tear. Washington County, Kansas, was represented by Commissioner Dave Willbrant, and Eric Wells of the county’s Highway Department. Schoenrock said, “We discussed the possibility of combining the requirements from both counties into one project for possible efficiencies. There will be follow up on that. Probably looking at having specs and drawings ready for bid letting this Fall with construction 2024.”

Is There A Future For WindEnergy In Jefferson County?

4.5.23

Related Articles

Sheriff’s Office Ramps Up Drug Arrests

Steele City Contracts With New Water Operator

Saturday Morning House Fire In Fairbury

VFW Search For Family Of Gold Star Recipient