On Saturday, a spokesman for the fossil furl company said the “potential volume” of the spill was 16,800 gallons or about 400 barrels, reports EcoWatch.
The new estimate comes just days after TransCanada said the leak was just a small one, about four or five barrels, or about 187 gallons. According to ABC10.com, the company was given conditional approval to restart the pipeline today by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
This was done after about 100 contractors and TransCanada employees, using backhoes, moved masses of oil-soaked soil from around 275-feet of the pipeline to pinpoint the leak. Cleanup operations were started immediately. TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper wrote in a news release: “The pipeline will operate at reduced pressure initially as aerial and ground crews monitor the situation.”
There is an explanation for the big difference in oil spill amounts. Doug Harvey, vice president of liquid field operations explains. “There was some product that we could see on the ground, so that’s what the estimate was based on,” Harvey said. “There’s a requirement that we have to report that immediately, and we have to report on facts.”
After an examination of soil samples collected, modeling was done to get an accurate account of the real amount of oil leaked into the soil. All the oil-saturated soil was removed and put into above-ground storage tanks to be hauled away and ultimately disposed of. Bryan Walsh of the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources said no aquifers were affected by the spill.
