State Department releases draft SEIS for latest Keystone XL route
September 25, 2018
The proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline’s Mainline Alternative Route (MAR) in Nebraska “would have no significant direct, indirect, or cumulative effects on the quality of the natural or human environments,” the US Department of State said in a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS). Impacts would occur if there was a crude oil leak but likely would not be substantial because the system would halt pumping immediately and a response plan would be implemented promptly, it said.
The draft SEIS said Keystone’s XL’s sponsor, TransCanada Corp., would implement prevention and mitigation measures in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the pipeline and facilities to comply with local, state, and federal regulations. These would include:
- Incorporating project-specific special conditions that the US Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration recommended that were detailed in Appendix Z of the 2014 Keystone XL Final SEIS.
- Using a supervisory control and data acquisition center (SCADA) system to monitor the pipeline facility continuously for leaks.
- Monitoring and controlling the cathodic protection system 24 hr/day, 365 days/year, from a central control facility in Edmonton, Alta.
- Maintaining required manuals, and filing required integrity management plans, as PHMSA requires...
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