The Justice Department has filed a proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations arising from the 2022 Keystone Pipeline rupture in Kansas. The case targets the owner and operator of the pipeline system, now associated with South Bow, and centers on one of the most closely watched pipeline spill events in recent years.

According to the government, the settlement would address civil environmental claims tied to the rupture and the operator’s spill-response obligations.

A June 26, 2026 filing in the Ninth Circuit puts a threshold issue front and center: whether this case should remain in the court of appeals at all. Respondent Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has filed a motion to dismiss in No. 25-8059, asking the court to terminate the proceeding before the merits are reached.

Although the docket entry provides only the motion’s caption-level detail, the filing itself is notable because motions to dismiss at the appellate level often turn on core gatekeeping doctrines that can decide a case without any substantive ruling on the challenged agency action.