Third Alberta Oil Spill in One Month—Totaling 26,450 Barrels

Oil coats a fish killed by a recent pipeline rupture in northwest Alberta (photo: Mike Hudema)

Third Alberta Oil Spill in One Month—Totaling 26,450 Barrels

EcoWatch

June 20 2012

To borrow a popular hockey term, Canada has scored a hat trick of the worst kind: Three major oil spills in just over one month.

The culprit this time around is Enbridge, the Calgary, Alberta-based operator of the world’s longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system, situated in Canada and the U.S. On June 19 the company confirmed that about 1,450 barrels (230,000 litres) of crude oil spilled from a pumping station onto farmland near Elk Point, Alberta, according to The Globe and Mail. Fortunately, this spill managed to occur in an area devoid of waterways.

Others haven’t been so lucky.

On June 7, Albertans living downstream from the Red Deer River suffered a scare when a pipeline owned by Plains Midstream Canada ruptured, spewing around 3,000 barrels of oil and posing a severe risk to the drinking water supply of 100,000 people, according to CBC News—Calgary. This spill began beneath Jackson Creek, a tributary of the Red Deer River, ending in Gleniffer Lake and reservoir where the majority of clean-up efforts and monitoring continue to take place.

According to Canada.com, the “province is still advising people not to draw water directly from the river or lake, and it’s telling people not to swim or fish in the lake, either.”

Topping them all is Pace Oil and Gas Ltd., which spilled an estimated 22,000 barrels of oil mixed with water near Rainbow Lake, in the northwestern corner of Alberta, according to Bloomberg.

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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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