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In 2013, crews excavated a section of the Keystone Pipeline in rural Kansas. The pipe was damaged. The soil underneath was improperly compacted. They looked at it, and then they buried it again without replacing the stressed section.

Nine years later, that exact pipe ruptured. It dumped 543,000 gallons of heavy crude oil into Mill Creek.

That single burst released more oil than all 22 previous spills on the entire pipeline system combined. The creek was left completely lifeless. More than 2,700 animals were killed by the spill.

Now, the pipeline’s operator has agreed to pay a $26.9 million civil penalty. They will also spend $40 million on measures to try and prevent another disaster. It is the largest onshore spill in the United States in a decade, and it was entirely preventable.