Keystone Pipeline Leak: Water Contamination Tests Planned

AMHERST, SD — TransCanada Corp. planned to test water from a drainage ditch near the site of a 210,000-gallon oil spill from the Keystone pipeline to determine if it is contaminated, a South Dakota official said.Officials don't think the oil is polluting the ditch or leaving the spill site through it, Brian Walsh, a manager at the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said on Monday.

There's no visible oil in the ditch, Walsh said TransCanada environmental contractors were to collect water samples on Monday if ice in the ditch melted.

The state has said the buried pipeline leak was on agricultural land. Officials don't believe it has polluted any surface water bodies or drinking water systems.

The pipeline transports crude from Canada.

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