Iowa pipeline leaks 140,000 gallons of diesel following Trump’s push for pipelines
A pipeline belonging to Magellan Midstream Partners spilled 138,600 gallons of diesel in Iowa on Wednesday
The leak was reported on Wednesday morning from a farm field in north-central Worth County
The leak was said to be contained before making it to any surface waters
Vacuum trucks managed to suck up 25,000 gallons of diesel and diesel/slush mix due to the snow on Wednesday afternoon
Following Tump’s decision to push through both the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, a pipeline owned by Magellan Midstream Partners has leaked 140,000 gallons of diesel in Iowa.
On Wednesday morning, a leak from a 12-inch buried pipeline was reported in a farm field in north-central Worth County, Iowa. The leak brought officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Iowa Department of Natural Resources, along with representatives from MMP.
“It’s A Big One”
“It’s a big one — it’s significant,” Jeff Vansteenburg, a field office supervisor for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, told The Des Moines Register. “The responsible party is Magellan, so they’ll have to bear the cost of clean up.” Vansteenburg was right, as this spill is the largest diesel spill since 2010.
MMP reported the leak at around 8:00 am after the pipeline ruptured. On Wednesday morning, MMP reported a 63,000 gallon leak. A total of 138,600 gallons was said to have gushed from the ruptured pipeline before it was contained.
The leak stayed mainly on a farm field and had not made it to any surface waters at this time. There is a creek near the spill area that may have been contaminated. The leak is said to be contained at this time.
MMP brought in vacuum trucks to suck up as much of the diesel as possible. With more than a foot of snow falling in Iowa since Monday, cleanup crews were able to suck up roughly 25,000 gallons of diesel, and a diesel/slush mix.
Phillip W. Hennig
In October of last year, MMP was responsible for the death of 59-year-old Phillip W. Hennig when one of their anhydrous ammonia pipelines ruptured. Hennig was going to check out the smell from the leak when it is assumed the anhydrous ammonia was too much for him to handle. The leak forced 23 households, roughly 40 people, to evacuate their homes due to an unsafe air quality.
Residents of Burt County remembered problems in the past before the anhydrous ammonia leak, including fires and prior leaks, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
In 2010, MMP was forced to pay a $46,200 fine for violating the Clean Water Act after one of the company’s pipelines leaked 5,000 gallons of diesel into a creek near Milford, Iowa. The same year, MMP was fined $418,000 after 45,000 gallon gasoline leak in Oklahoma.
PHMSA Audit
In October of 2016, an audit of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, who watches over the pipelines in America, highlighted the very real problems thriving in the pipeline industry.
