Enbridge Inc. reported yesterday that the Line 4 pipeline at the Regina Terminal in Saskatchewan, Canada had been “shut down and isolated” after it spilled over 1,300 barrels, approximately 56,700 gallons, of oil on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
A spokesman for the company, Graham White, said in an email that the spill “originated at a flange or valve within the terminal, so there were no problems with the pipeline itself.” White said that could mean the problem would be “relatively” easy to fix, but had no set time frame for when the pipeline would resume operations.
Canada’s National Energy Board said yesterday it was “monitoring” Enbridge’s response to the spill.
“The pump station and pipeline was immediately shut in and cleanup operations are underway. The release is contained within the company’s Regina Terminal pond,” the NEB said in a statement.
The pipeline, which is the largest oil-export pipeline to the US, carries nearly 800,000 barrels a day of crude oil from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin.
In a statement, Enbridge said:
“There are no impacts to the public, wildlife, or waterways. Nearby residents and business may detect a faint odour. Air monitoring is being conducted and levels are well within safety limits. Enbridge first responders with clean-up and response equipment are on-site and expect the cleanup of free product to be completed [on Thursday] … A complete investigation into the incident is being conducted. We are committed to the goal of reaching zero spills and will thoroughly investigate the incident for lessons learned.”
Enbridge is no stranger to dealing with the effects of oil spills as it was involved in one of the largest and most expensive inland oils spills in American history.
Earlier this month, Enbridge agreed to pay a $6.75 million settlement over a July 2010 spill, which resulted in more than 800,000 gallons of Canadian tar sands crude oil spilled into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. Enbridge estimated that, aside from the settlement, cleanup costs for that spill alone were about $1.2 billion.
