Enbridge Elk Point Spill Pumps About 230,000 Litres Of Heavy Crude In Alberta

 A child is pushed in a stroller past a mock oil spill outside the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline office in downtown Vancouver on Wednesday, June 13, 2012. Crews continue to mop up an oil spill in northern Alberta.

Photograph by: Jonathan Hayward , Canadian Press

Enbridge Elk Point Spill Pumps About 230,000 Litres Of Heavy Crude In Alberta

Huffington Post

By The Canadian Press

June 19 2012

ELK POINT, Alta. - There's been another oil spill in Alberta, this time northeast of Edmonton.

The Energy Resources Conservation Board says the leak of heavy crude oil happened Monday at a pumping station on Enbridge Inc.’s (TSX:ENB) Athabasca pipeline about 24 kilometres southeast of Elk Point.

Enbridge estimates about 230,000 litres has leaked, but the ERCB's Darin Barter said Tuesday that amount hasn't been confirmed.

"It's a significant size spill," said Barter. "Any amount of crude oil out of a pipeline is significant to us. Obviously we've had a number of pipeline incidents in the past short while and we're monitoring cleanup on them and we have a number of investigations underway."

Barter said the pumping station — a 12-year-old facility which is in the middle of a field — has been isolated. He also said the oil has not spilled into any waterways, nor were there any evacuations or injuries due to the leak.

"There's absolutely no waterways, there's no water, there's no standing water, it's on dry land," he said. "The company is actually on the scene and they're cleaning up the spill now. We''ll remain there for as long as we need to be until our comfort is achieved in cleanup operations."

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