Oil Pipeline at Full Capacity Following Rupture

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Federal investigators have allowed TransCanada to go to full pressure on a new gas pipeline in northeast Wyoming that ruptured for reasons that still aren't entirely clear.

Calgary, Alberta-based TransCanada doesn't have quite enough gas to take full advantage of the recent approval from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The Bison Pipeline is running at about 85 percent capacity.

The 30-inch pipeline ruptured July 20 and spewed a brown cloud into the sky 20 miles northwest of Gillette. The rupture shook the ground a mile away but the gas didn't ignite.

TransCanada spokesman David Dodson said Monday that TransCanada determined that something struck and damaged the pipe, though how or when that happened remains unknown.

The pipeline across southeast Montana into North Dakota began shipping gas in January.