Cleanup continues after a ruptured pipeline spilled 5,660 barrels of heavy crude oil on farmland in southeastern Saskatchewan April 15.
The spill, about the size of a football field, occurred about 2.5 kilometres downstream from the Enbridge Glenavon pumping station.
A company News release
news said the line was immediately shut down and isolated as soon as its pipeline control centre in Edmonton detected a pressure drop.
Spokesperson Jennifer Varey said the situation is like stopping a train: the brakes are on but it still takes time to come to a complete stop.
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By April 23, nearly all the escaped oil had been vacuumed and Varey said the company was starting to pump water out of an affected slough. Contaminated soil will be removed and both soil and water will be taken to an approved facility.
Longer term cleanup will focus on remediation.
“Our goal is to return the site to as close to its original condition as possible,” Varey said.
The affected landowner will be compensated for both damage and inconvenience.
“We absolutely take responsibility for any damages,” Varey said.
She couldn’t say how long it would take to complete the cleanup.
Enbridge has removed the affected section of pipe and will analyze why it ruptured.
It’s still not known what caused the problem and Varey said the pipeline, which was restarted April 18, will continue to operate at 80 percent pressure until the analysis is complete.
The line is a 34-inch diameter pipe that moves 490,000 barrels per day of heavy and medium crude oil from Edmonton to Superior, Wisconsin. From there, the oil either moves to tanks or refineries or is redirected into other pipelines.
Varey said these types of incidents are rare and the company focuses on prevention.
