Friends of the Kaw Responds to Keystone Pipeline Oil Spill in the Kansas River Watershed

Photo of a site on Mill Creek (Kansas), downstream of the Keystone Pipeline Oil Spill.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRIENDS OF THE KAW RESPONDS TO KEYSTONE PIPELINE OIL SPILL IN THE KANSAS RIVER WATERSHED

LAWRENCE, KS (December 9, 2022) – Friends of the Kaw (FOK) was notified that the Keystone Pipeline spilled about 14,000 barrels or 600,000 gallons of crude oil into the Kansas River watershed on Wednesday evening, December 7, 2022, at about 8:00 PM CST.  The Keystone Pipeline spilled into Mill Creek, just north of Washington, Kansas.  This creek drains into the Little Blue River, then to the Big Blue River where its waters are held in Tuttle Creek Reservoir before being released to the Kansas River.  We do not yet know how many miles of river this covers.

Commissioned in 2010, the Keystone Pipeline carries oil in Canada and the United States, and is owned by TC Energy and the Government of Alberta.  The pipeline travels across the entire state of Kansas from near Washington, Kansas in the north to just west of Arkansas City, Kansas in the south. It crosses many rivers and streams along its path.  The spill occurred very near Mill Creek and has completely inundated the creek with oil.  We suspect many fish and wildlife have been lost as this creek is host to numerous concentrations of birds, fish, eagles, and other wildlife.  This is of particular concern during the fall migration season.  Fish and wildlife are important to Kansans for the quality of life that they bring to our state and the roles they play in our native ecosystems.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a stream advisory for Mill Creek.  Both KDHE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) remediation teams were deployed immediately to the oil spill site.  Earthen berms have been constructed and oil booms installed to try to prevent the oil plume from migrating downstream. The Kansas Water Office is monitoring the situation and it appears at this time that no public water systems have been impacted. 

Over 61,000 square miles of watershed in Kansas, southern Nebraska, and eastern Colorado drain to the Kansas River, the drinking water source for over 800,000 Kansans and a vital natural resource.  This area includes the creek, rivers, and reservoir potentially impacted by this Keystone pipeline spill.  While Washington County is seemingly far away from the Kansas River, disasters like this one illustrate how connected the people and places in our watershed truly are.  

For the sake of the people and wildlife in Washington County and those living downstream who could be impacted, we urge TC Energy to clean up the entire spill and to take action on any later impacts that may occur as a result of their actions.  Thank you to the dedicated teams at KDHE and EPA for responding swiftly. 

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Friends of the Kaw serves the Kansas River, the largest prairie-based river system in the world. The Kansas River originates at the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers near Junction City, Kansas and runs 173 miles east to meet the Missouri River at Kaw Point in Kansas City, Kansas.

Friends of the Kaw is a member of the global Waterkeeper Alliance.  Waterkeeper Alliance strengthens and grows a global network of grassroots leaders protecting everyone’s right to clean water. Our goal is drinkable, fishable, swimmable water everywhere.

For Media Inquiries Please Contact:

Dawn Buehler

Kansas Riverkeeper® & Executive Director

Friends of the Kaw

785.312.7200

Chasing the Channel – Blog No. 26

Where did summer go?  Beautiful fall on the Kaw is here. 

Fall Kaw sunrise. Photo by Dawn Buehler

Do you ever just look back in a blur over the last few months and wonder where it went?  That’s about how I feel as I finally sit down to write a blog post.  Since I last wrote, we finished our educational paddle trip season and moved into fall cleanup season and the Kids About Water Education Program seasons.  Many of the programs that we do are very cyclical – coming at certain times of the year and then we move on to the next.  The one thing that remains constant, unfortunately, is pollution.  Pollution never takes a break.

FOK Education Coordinator, Denise Kidder, and her Water Quality Education Team! Photo by Denise Kidder

I had a very busy August with many meetings with the Kansas Water Authority.  We hosted a Water Policy Conversation with stakeholders across the state to discuss how we can move forward together to solve some of our most important water policy problems.  This was a very important meeting and I think it set the reset button for many of us to reflect on what’s important, find where we have common ground, and how we are going to move forward.  I am a glass that is always full, kind of person, so for me this was a great step. 

FOK Program Manager, Kim Bellemere’s team working at our Kaw River State Park Restoration Project! Photo by Kim Bellemere

As for Friends of the Kaw, we’ve had more events that I can count here in this blog post.  We owe a huge thank you to Kim, Denise, Jane and Macy for their hard work on behalf of FOK.  This team makes it possible. Thank you to everyone one of you that joined us for a Beginner Wednesday this year!

Battery Cases on the KDWP airboat. Photo by Dawn Buehler

We held our bi-annual Manhattan Battery Case Cleanup event in Manhattan last weekend. When will the battery cases end? We’ve done this cleanup twice a year for 5 years now and they are still there. We know we are making progress. We move about 3 ton every time we do it. Last weekend we had our partners along with about 40 students! It was a great day for the Kaw. One of these days, we will get them all, we promise.

You likely saw all of our emails about our first ever Day of Giving!  Thanks to all of you that donated and participated.  We are truly grateful for the donations from our friends and members, and to the FOK Board and anonymous donors for challenging us to raise the dollars.  It is a wonderful thing as a non-profit to have such unanimous support of the Board of Directors.  If you see them around town, do me a favor and thank them for serving and giving so much to the river!

So what’s next?  We’ve got Beers of the Kaw (most fun of the year!), our big tire cleanup tomorrow (like, 500 tires or more), a Kansas Water Authority meeting next week, and lots of gear cleanup and storage towards the end of the month.

Our annual Kaw River Guide Weekend is coming up and I always look forward to this event.  A weekend with our volunteers, just exploring the river and enjoying each other around the campfire is the perfect way to end the river season.  While the public side of things winds down, we will still be out on the river doing river checks and looking for pollution.  I’ll try to write a blog post over the winter about pollution – don’t even get me started on the fact that it still happens!

Kansas Riverkeeper, Dawn Buehler and Governor Laura Kelly. Photo by Governor’s office.

We did have many celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act and I was honored to stand next to Governor Kelly as she signed a proclamation.  It was a great month to celebrate how far we’ve come in 50 years! 

Kansas Riverkeeper, Dawn Buehler joined present and former staff of Kansas Department of Health and Environment, alongside Governor Laura Kelly. Photo by Governor’s office.

Lastly, I thought I’d let you all know that I became a first-time grandma in August.  My little grandson is healthy and perfect!  I can’t wait to get him in a kayak and on the river, but it will be a few years.  In the meantime, I plan to get him out on a few walks, playing in the dirt, sitting in the kayak on the pond, and dipping his toes into a mud puddle!  His Mom and Dad are gonna love how dirty he gets at Grandma’s! 

Campfire and moon with the Kaw River Guides. Photo by Dawn Buehler

I wish you all a wonderful fall season.  The best camping season on the Kaw is October – get out there and enjoy!  Contact me if I can help you plan your adventure, we are happy to help. 

I hope to see you all on the river!

For the river,

Dawn Buehler

Kansas Riverkeeper

7th Annual Beers of the Kaw

7th Annual Beers of the Kaw

Beer of the Kaw is a beer tasting of the breweries in the Kansas River watershed, which is 61,000 square miles!  We use beer and water to educate about the watershed.  Come join us to learn a little, taste a little beer, and support our work for the Kansas River!  Tickets $35 and supports Friends of the Kaw and our work for the Kansas River!

Tickets: https://bit.ly/3KSmVcL

Sunday, November 6, 2022 from 3:00 to 6:00 PM

Abe & Jake’s Landing, Lawrence, KS

Tickets also available at (cash or check only): Sunflower Outdoor & Bike, Lawrence, KS OR Compass Point, Home of Dirty Girl Adventures, Topeka, KS

More information: https://kansasriver.org/beersofthekaw/

Chasing the Channel – Blog No. 25

Chasing the Channel – Blog No. 25

Water Funding Updates and Summer

Hello river friends ~

Last weekend we spent time on the Kansas River from Junction City to Manhattan for the first time in a month after many rainy days.  Many of you have heard me speak about this part of our river and how beautiful it is.  Think of rolling Flint Hills and a narrower river before the influence of the Big Blue River downstream at Manhattan.  There is a very diverse tree canopy, wildlife everywhere and a peacefulness on the water.  We camped on Friday night after launching at Junction City and while it was a hot afternoon, the evening was quite enjoyable.  I slept really well in my little tent, better that I usually do for the first night out camping. 

Morning on the Kaw at Junction City (Photo by Dawn Buehler)

The next morning, we departed really early because we had to meet the public group at the Ogden Ramp.  We shoved off about 6:45 AM just after the sun came up.  There is nothing quite like watching the sun come up on the Kaw.  The wildlife along the shores and in the water.  We saw a beaver jump out of its den and another beaver swimming along beside.  This is truly a special place.

Later we arrived at the boat ramp in Ogden and met up with the public and started our Bugs, Biodiversity and the Kaw event with Dr. Greg Zolnerowich, a K-State Professor of Entomology.  We had a really great educational day on a gorgeous stretch of the river!  Next time, you need to join us!

Kansas River through the Flint Hills (Photo by Dawn Buehler)

This week is back to advocacy and working on water issues across the state.  The Kansas Water Authority meets tomorrow in Pittsburg and as the Chair, there is much to prepare for the meeting.  If you want to listen in on the meeting, there is a ZOOM option here on the Kansas Water Office website: 

https://kwo.ks.gov/admin-pages/events-landing-page/2022/06/22/default-calendar/kansas-water-authority-meeting

Speaking of water, funding and the Kansas Legislature; I wanted to give our members an update on the final tally for water this year.  In my many years of advocating for water funding, this is the first year that we have made so much progress.  Many thanks to all of the folks that have advocated for the last 15 years for funding, but also to Governor Kelly and the Kansas Legislature for finding a way to start to make water a priority. 

Here are a few updates:

  • The Governor recommended and the Kansas Legislature approved the FY 2023 SWPF appropriations including expenditures reflecting full statutory State General Fund (SGF) and Economic Initiatives Development Fund (EDIF) demand transfers of $6 million and $2 million, respectively, to the State Water Plan Fund. The full $8 million statutory demand transfer is the first time since FY 2008 in which this full amount was approved.
  • $80.0 million of State General Fund (SGF) was appropriated for the purpose of paying off capital expenses for water supply storage within Hillsdale Lake, Clinton Lake, and Big Hill Lake during FY 2022. The bill also included language regarding the dedication of revenue streams which would have been previously utilized for capital expenses on those three reservoirs to be utilized on retirement of storage debt in the future.
  • The John Redmond Reservoir bond debt will be paid off before the end of FY 2022, which will in turn put $1,000,000 per year back into the State Water Plan Fund.

We have a great deal to be thankful for this year pertaining to water.  Many heartfelt thanks to everyone that advocated for funding and kept the conversation going all these years.  We all worked hard to get here, but ultimately Governor Kelly and the Kansas Legislature made it happen.

As I close out this blog post, I ask that you please write to your Kansas Senator and/or Representative and give them a big thank you!  For now, let’s celebrate!  Then tomorrow, onward to the next….as there is more to be done in water circles.   

I hope to see you all on the river!

For the river,

Dawn Buehler

Kansas Riverkeeper