New BC Pipeline Spill Details Show Largest Involved 1,000 Li

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New BC Pipeline Spill Details Show Largest Involved 1,000 Litres of Oil

[ http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/09/23/New-B ... ign=230916 ]

Oil and gas commission releases details on seven crude oil spills in 2015.

By Andrew MacLeod , TheTyee.ca September 23, 2016

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee's Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria and the author of A Better Place on Earth: The Search for Fairness in Super Unequal British Columbia (Harbour Publishing, 2015).

The seven spills in 2015 from crude oil pipelines regulated by the BC Oil and Gas Commission included one of 1,000 litres and another that required the removal of 1,460 tonnes of soil.

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Growing number of incidents

The Tyee reported earlier this week that the number of oil spills in the 2,489 kilometres of crude oil pipeline regulated by the commission appeared to be in-creasing.

There were seven spills in 2015, the same number as in 2014, but up from four in 2013, six in 2012 and three in 2011.

“The trend does appear to be edging upwards, which is always a concern,” said NDP energy and mines critic Doug Donaldson.

He said there is always risk when moving oil and it’s the government’s job to find the balance between building the economy and protecting the environment. “There’s little confidence in the current Christy Clark government in getting that balance right,” he said.

The oil and gas commission regulates the majority of the province’s pipelines, but isn’t responsible for pipelines that cross a provincial or national border. The existing Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline, which the company is seeking approval to twin, is not included in the figures.

The publicly released summary report from the commission did not list specific incidents or include details. A spokesperson for the commission provided incident reports filed by the companies responsible, as well as a summary of each incident.

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Expansion opposed

A spokesperson for the commission was unavailable for an interview. He has said previously pipeline safety is continually improving and the number of incidents varies from year to year.

The 2015 summary report from the commission says it makes sure any spill is “completely cleaned up and remediated by the company” and problems fixed before the pipeline returns to operation. “An investigation takes place into every incident to help ensure it does not happen again.”

On Sept. 22 the leaders of 50 First Nations and Tribes from Canada and the northern United States announced they are committed “to working together to stop all proposed tar sands pipeline, tanker and rail projects in their respective territorial lands and waters.”

The announcement said the tar sands have already poisoned the water for First Nations in Alberta and beyond and that further expansion, including any of the five major pipelines proposed to get oil from Alberta to the continent’s coasts, would spread the damage. [Tyee]