"The owners of the Keystone Pipeline System entered into a settlement Friday with the Environmental Protection Agency and Kansas under which they agreed to pay more than $26 million in damages for a 2022 oil spill.
“The substantial penalty reflects the seriousness of the environmental harm, and the other requirements of the settlement reflect the need to prioritize pipeline integrity and maintenance for this critical infrastructure,” Jeffrey A. Hall, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a statement.
The pipeline is about 2,600 miles long, stretching from Alberta, Canada, to Port Arthur, Texas. The 2022 rupture affected Mill Creek in Washington County, Kansas—leaking more than 543,000 gallons of oil and either killing or harming more than 2,700 animals, according to the EPA. The agency issued a cleanup order in 2023, which resulted in South Bow removing oil from the creek and surrounding areas.
“The event was one of the largest inland oil spills in recent history, and the largest discharge ever from the Keystone Pipeline system,” the EPA and Justice Department said in the statement. "
Shayna Greene reports for Bloomberg Environment July 10, 2026.
