Keystone Pipeline leaks...

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,890
5,001
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Dang, who would have guessed this was going to happen. I'm shocked!
Only 210,000 gallons though... *sigh*

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/16/us/keystone-pipeline-leak/index.html

(CNN)A total of 210,000 gallons of oil leaked Thursday from the Keystone Pipeline in South Dakota, the pipeline's operator, TransCanada, said.

Crews shut down the pipeline Thursday morning and officials are investigating the cause of the leak.
This is the largest Keystone oil spill to date in South Dakota, said Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the state's Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
In April 2016, there was a 400-barrel release -- or 16,800 gallons -- with the majority of the oil cleanup completed in two months, Walsh said.
Developing story - more to come
 

Puffnstuff

Lifer
Mar 9, 2005
16,204
4,884
136
Totally unpredictable! /s

Are pipelines really better than trucks or rail cars? I know accidents have happened with all.
If they're installed right they most certainly are confining the spill to the immediate area of the pipeline. With mobile containers the oil can spill anywhere along the route.
 
Jul 9, 2009
10,758
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"Crews shut down the pipeline Thursday morning and officials are investigating the cause of the leak."

What did the eco-terrorist group Greenpeace have to say about the cause of the leak?
 

bradly1101

Diamond Member
May 5, 2013
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www.bradlygsmith.org
If they're installed right they most certainly are confining the spill to the immediate area of the pipeline. With mobile containers the oil can spill anywhere along the route.
I guess they've done the numbers:

"so what is the safest way to move it?

The short answer is: truck worse than train worse than pipeline worse than boat(Oilprice.com). But that’s only for human death and property destruction. For the normalized amount of oil spilled, it’s truck worse than pipeline worse than rail worse than boat(Congressional Research Service). Different yet again is for environmental impact (dominated by impact to aquatic habitat), where it’s boat worse than pipeline worse than truck worse than rail.

So it depends upon what your definition is for worse. Is it death and destruction? Is it amount of oil released? Is it land area or water volume contaminated? Is it habitat destroyed? Is it CO2 emitted?"

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesc...ude-pipeline-rail-truck-or-boat/#2214effc17ac
 

werepossum

Elite Member
Jul 10, 2006
29,873
463
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Meh. All pipelines leak occasionally. Until you can power society with promises and unicorn farts, oil is here to stay.

This is why I would have preferred it go near a major city than across sparsely populated tribal lands though - pipelines passing near major cities tend to be much more closely monitored and better maintained.
 
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Jul 9, 2009
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Meh. All pipelines leak occasionally. Until you can power society with promises and unicorn farts, oil is here to stay.

This is why I would have preferred it go near a major city than across sparsely populated tribal lands though - pipelines passing near major cities tend to be much more closely monitored and better maintained.
Except it doesn't cross Sioux Tribal lands, although it does cross lands they claim from an 1851 treaty.
"
Is the pipeline on private or tribal land?
It's complicated. The Dakota Access pipeline route crosses North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois on mostly private land, plus some federally controlled areas like water crossings. The route does not cross the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

But the private land making up the pipeline corridor just north of the reservation is part of the tribe's ancestral homeland. It was promised to the Sioux people in the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie but later taken for private use. Farmers and ranchers have owned and worked the land for generations. The Dakota Access battle has in many ways become a proxy for a broader debate over tribal treaty rights."





https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060045082
 

Paratus

Lifer
Jun 4, 2004
17,643
15,830
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"Crews shut down the pipeline Thursday morning and officials are investigating the cause of the leak."

What did the eco-terrorist group Greenpeace have to say about the cause of the leak?

Never worked in petrochem I see.

Seals fail.
Pipes fail.

Most of the time due to design defects, manufacturing defects, installation defects, operational errors, lack of maintenance, natural causes, and very very rarely intentional sabotage.
 
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werepossum

Elite Member
Jul 10, 2006
29,873
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Except it doesn't cross Sioux Tribal lands, although it does cross lands they claim from an 1851 treaty.
"
Is the pipeline on private or tribal land?
It's complicated. The Dakota Access pipeline route crosses North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois on mostly private land, plus some federally controlled areas like water crossings. The route does not cross the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

But the private land making up the pipeline corridor just north of the reservation is part of the tribe's ancestral homeland. It was promised to the Sioux people in the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie but later taken for private use. Farmers and ranchers have owned and worked the land for generations. The Dakota Access battle has in many ways become a proxy for a broader debate over tribal treaty rights."

https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060045082
Good point. If Native Americans still owned all the lands they were promised, they'd still own most of the country.
 
Feb 4, 2009
35,862
17,403
136
Meh. All pipelines leak occasionally. Until you can power society with promises and unicorn farts, oil is here to stay.

This is why I would have preferred it go near a major city than across sparsely populated tribal lands though - pipelines passing near major cities tend to be much more closely monitored and better maintained.

Problems I have with this pipeline is the tar sand oil was already being used in the mid west. The pipeline is designed to send oil to China.
Second is more trivial but irritating, when it was proposed the thousands of jobs were only for a year. I've read long term the pipeline will employ about 50 people.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
100,262
17,901
126
Totally unpredictable! /s

Are pipelines really better than trucks or rail cars? I know accidents have happened with all.


Problem is not pipeline per se, it's the shitty standards.

I say let the companies build the pipelines. And they are liable for all damages. No bankrupcy escape clause, put big amount into a fund. Management personal assets are fair game too.
 

kage69

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
31,351
47,605
136
Totally unpredictable! /s

Are pipelines really better than trucks or rail cars? I know accidents have happened with all.

Less so when the rail cars are the proper ones for the job. When industry gets to write much of it's own regulation, we're not discussing safety, we're discussing the level of safety they deem worth paying for.

When did mobility become a liability? Yeah that Trans Alaska pipeline was smooth sailing after it was finished. Weather, earthquakes, drunk hunters, no big deal. And remember, elevation changes mean ramping up the pressure so those leaks will be fun.
 

bradly1101

Diamond Member
May 5, 2013
4,689
294
126
www.bradlygsmith.org
.
In your links there is nothing about Greenpeace itself. The FBI specifically states that the acts were performed by "disaffected" members of Greenpeace who joined/created another group. Is there a clue in there why they were possibly disaffected? The others are just accusations from industry groups saying "Greenpeace-inspired" people or groups. How does a group with "peace" in its name inspire violence except to those who don't like (and/or perceive less money because of) green groups?

"Mission Statement. Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organisation, which uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to force the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future."

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/about/our-core-values/
 
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bradly1101

Diamond Member
May 5, 2013
4,689
294
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www.bradlygsmith.org
Except it doesn't cross Sioux Tribal lands, although it does cross lands they claim from an 1851 treaty.
"
Is the pipeline on private or tribal land?
It's complicated. The Dakota Access pipeline route crosses North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois on mostly private land, plus some federally controlled areas like water crossings. The route does not cross the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

But the private land making up the pipeline corridor just north of the reservation is part of the tribe's ancestral homeland. It was promised to the Sioux people in the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie but later taken for private use. Farmers and ranchers have owned and worked the land for generations. The Dakota Access battle has in many ways become a proxy for a broader debate over tribal treaty rights."





https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060045082
I thought the main argument from natives is that in case of a spill upstream, their water would be the most affected.

Edit: their! not they're!
 
Last edited:
Jul 9, 2009
10,758
2,086
136
Never worked in petrochem I see.

Seals fail.
Pipes fail.

Most of the time due to design defects, manufacturing defects, installation defects, operational errors, lack of maintenance, natural causes, and very very rarely intentional sabotage.
Sorry if i'm better informed on some things.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...m-responsibility-pipeline-sabotage/504136001/

"The two women said they researched how to pierce the steel pipe used for the pipeline and in March they began using oxyacetylene cutting torches to damage exposed, empty pipeline valves. They said they started deliberately vandalizing the pipeline in southeast Iowa's Mahaska County, delaying completion for weeks."
 
Jul 9, 2009
10,758
2,086
136
.
In your links there is nothing about Greenpeace itself. The FBI specifically states that the acts were performed by "disaffected" members of Greenpeace who joined/created another group. Is there a clue in there why they were possibly disaffected? The others are just accusations from industry groups saying "Greenpeace-inspired" people or groups. How does a group with "peace" in its name inspire violence except to those who don't like (and/or perceive less money because of) green groups?

"Mission Statement. Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organisation, which uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to force the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future."

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/about/our-core-values/
Oh OK, peace out. Soon to be renamed imported peaceful tajmahal.
 

Jaskalas

Lifer
Jun 23, 2004
35,779
10,078
136
If they're installed right they most certainly are confining the spill to the immediate area of the pipeline. With mobile containers the oil can spill anywhere along the route.

Surely the size of each incident's maximum potential is a factor in the severity of environmental impact.
 

Paratus

Lifer
Jun 4, 2004
17,643
15,830
146
Sorry if i'm better informed on some things.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...m-responsibility-pipeline-sabotage/504136001/

"The two women said they researched how to pierce the steel pipe used for the pipeline and in March they began using oxyacetylene cutting torches to damage exposed, empty pipeline valves. They said they started deliberately vandalizing the pipeline in southeast Iowa's Mahaska County, delaying completion for weeks."
So one case of a sabotage means all cases are
?

Ok.