BILLINGS, Mont. — Oil pipeline accidents have become increasingly frequent in the U.S. as Congress pushes for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline — a project that would pass near the spot where 30,000 gallons of crude spilled into Montana’s Yellowstone River earlier this month.

The recent spill temporarily fouled a city’s water supply and became the latest in a string of accidents to highlight ongoing problems with maintenance of the nation’s 61,000 miles of crude oil pipelines.

Yet in the politically charged debate over Keystone, its detractors aren’t the only ones seizing on the Yellowstone spill. So are lawmakers who support the project.

In a floor speech Wednesday, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., pointed to the Jan. 17 spill in Montana as an example of why new pipelines like Keystone are needed.

Keystone would be different than the half-century-old line that failed near the city of Glendive, Montana Sen. Steve Daines told The Associated Press.

“What this oil spill has done, is it makes clear that we need to be building the most technologically advanced and state-of-the-art infrastructure, pipelines like the Keystone,” said Daines, a freshman Republican.

The number of significant pipeline-related accidents involving crude oil has been growing each year since 2009, reversing a decade-long declining trend, according to an Associated Press review of U.S. Department of Transportation records.

At least 73 such accidents occurred in 2014 — an 87 percent increase over 2009. Because of a lag in reporting by companies, the 2014 figure still could rise.

The tally includes accidents in which someone was killed or hospitalized, five or more barrels of oil were released, a fire or explosion occurred, or costs from the accident topped $50,000.

The increase came as surging domestic oil production boosted crude shipments by pipeline by about 20 percent, to 8.3 billion barrels annually, between 2009 and 2013, the most recent year available.