2.1 Overview of the Proposed Project - Keystone XL pipeline - US ...

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Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact StatementKeystone XL ProjectOil spills on the ground surface and some releases below grade potentially could ignite. PHMSAdata for onshore oil and hazardous material pipelines indicate that only 6 of 2,706 incidents (0.2percent) that occurred from 1990 through 2009 were attributed to “fire/explosion as a primarycause.” Six out of 3,033 incidents were reported as due to the referenced cause. Two out of 1,360crude oil incidents were reported as due to the reference cause.A search of the internet for reports of crude oil pipeline explosions suggests that 1) there are veryfew if any explosions in crude oil pipeline operation that were the result of a failure of thepipeline as a primary cause, and 2) the very few that have occurred are attributable to explosionsin ancillary facilities or errors in operations unassociated with crude oil transportation. Forexample, the recent explosion and fire in the crude oil pipeline/storage tank area in Dalian,China, occurred as a result of an improper desulfurization operation; the primary cause was notthe transport of crude oil in the pipeline.An accidental crude oil spill from the pipeline or at a pump station would likely result in somehydrocarbon vapors, but they would not be in confined spaces and therefore would be unlikely toexplode. A fire associated with a release from a crude oil pipeline is relatively rare. In the eventof a fire, local emergency responders would execute the roles listed above and more specificallyin the PSRP and the ERP, and firefighters would take actions to prevent the crude oil fire fromspreading to residential areas.RemediationCorrective remedial actions would be dictated by federal, state, and local regulations andenforced by the USEPA, Office of Pipeline Safety, and appropriate state and/or local agencies.Required remedial actions may be large or small, dependent upon a number of factors includingstate mandated remedial cleanup levels, potential effects to sensitive receptors, the volume andextent of the contamination, whether or not there is a violation of water quality standards, and themagnitude of adverse impacts caused by remedial activities. A large remediation action mayinclude the excavation and removal of contaminated soil or could involve allowing thecontaminated soil to recover through natural attenuation or environmental fate processes such asevaporation and biodegradation.If, during construction, tanks or contamination are found, they would be managed according tofederal, state, and/or local regulations. Further, Keystone would make individuals available whoare trained in identifying and disposing of hazardous materials during construction.If there is an accidental release from the proposed Project, Keystone would implement theremedial measures necessary to meet the federal, state, and local standards that are designed toensure protection of human health and environmental quality. Additional information onremediation is presented in Section 4.13, Potential Releases.2.1.12 Connected ActionsThere are three actions that are separate from the proposed Project that are not part of thePresidential Permit application submitted by Keystone, but are being reviewed as connectedProject Description 2.1-74 March 2013
Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact StatementKeystone XL Projectactions 6 pursuant to NEPA. The three connected actions are the Bakken Marketlink Project, theBig Bend to Witten 230-kilovolt (kV) electric transmission line, and electric distribution linesand substations associated with the proposed pump stations.Preliminary information on the design, construction, and operation of these projects is presentedbelow. Although the permit applications for these projects would be reviewed and acted on byother agencies, the potential impacts of these projects have been analyzed in the SupplementalEIS based on currently available information and are addressed within each resource assessed inChapter 4, Environmental Consequences. However, in some cases only limited information wasavailable on the design, construction, and operation of the projects. The reviews of permitapplications by other agencies would include more detailed environmental reviews of theconnected actions.2.1.12.1 Bakken Marketlink ProjectKeystone Marketlink, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of TransCanada Pipelines Limited, isproposing to construct and operate the Bakken Marketlink Project. It would include constructionand operation of facilities within the boundaries of the proposed Keystone XL Cushing tankfarm. This location is adjacent to the Cushing Oil Terminal, a key pipeline transportation andcrude oil storage hub with over 50 million barrels of storage capacity. Crude oil in the BakkenMarketlink storage tanks at the Cushing tank farm would either be pumped to the Keystone XLpipeline or to other pipelines and tank farms near Cushing. The Cushing tank farm would be nearmany pipelines, storage facilities, and refineries; the Cushing area is a major crude oil marketing,refining, and pipeline hub that provides shippers with many delivery options and market access.The project would include construction of facilities to provide crude oil transportation servicefrom near Baker, Montana, to the Keystone Cushing Expansion in Kansas. Keystone Marketlink,LLC obtained commitments for transport of approximately 65,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crudeoil through the Marketlink Project. The Bakken Marketlink Project could deliver up to 100,000bpd to the proposed Project depending on ultimate shipper commitments.The project would consist of piping, booster pumps, meter manifolds, and one 250,000-barreltank that would be used to accumulate crude from connecting third-party pipelines and terminalsand a 100,000-barrel tank that would be used for operational purposes (see Figure 2.1.12-1).Tanks at both locations will be external floating roof tanks. At Cushing there will be crude oilbooster pumps located at the facility for transfer of the crude oil from the pipeline to the crude oilstorage tanks. All booster pumps are electrically driven. Preliminary design engineering indicatesthat no combustion equipment (e.g., emergency generator engines) or other add-on controldevices (e.g., emergency flares or vapor recovery units) would be constructed at the facility. Thefacilities would also include a proposed pipeline that would be approximately 5 miles in length,originating south of pump station 14 at a third party tank farm in Fallon County, and extending tothe Keystone Bakken Terminal. TransCanada Pipelines Limited Bakken held introductorymeetings with State and local permitting agencies in 2011, and also held a meeting forpotentially affected landowners along the route. Adjustments in the alignment are possible as aresult of civil surveys, further landowner discussions, and permitting. The proposed in servicedate for the Bakken Marketlink Project is projected to be the first or second quarter of 2015.6Additional relevant information related to connected actions is pending and will be included in this review as partof the Final Supplemental EIS.Project Description 2.1-75 March 2013
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2.1 Overview of the Proposed Project - Keystone XL pipeline - US ...

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