A Trilogy Energy pipeline leak has spilled an estimated 250,000 litres of oil emulsion, a mixture of oil and water, into an Alberta wetland near Fox Creek, according to the company.

Although the spill was first reported on October 6, neither Trilogy nor the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) released any information about its size until this week.

Trilogy initially reported the spill covered three hectares, the equivalent of 21 tennis courts in a remote wetland location some 15 kilometres outside Fox Creek.

“Less than half of that is impacted by actual oil staining,” John Williams, president and chief operating officer of Trilogy, told DeSmog Canada in an interview Friday.

Williams said the spill volume estimate was based on aerial surveillance of the spill location as well as measurement on the ground of oil spread and depth.

“Oil gets caught in the grass and water tends to flow down and separate,” Williams said.

“We provided the AER with our best estimate and AER will validate our numbers based on how we got to that calculation,” he said.

“That’s their indirect way of saying ‘that’s not our number, that’s Trilogy’s number, so if there’s a problem don’t get upset with us,’ “ Williams said.

An update published on Trilogy's website indicates the company is still working to confirm the volume of the spill. 

The AER recently initiated an investigation into the spill, something Williams said is simply due process.

“We knew the enforcement action was coming,” he said. “That’s part and parcel with cleanup.”

“We’re cooperating fully.”

According to the Alberta Energy Regulator the company’s leak detection system did not notify Trilogy of the spill. Instead inspectors doing a routine flyover spotted the leak from a helicopter, Williams said.

In July, the regulator requested pipeline operators to improve their leak detection systems after a review of 23 major pipeline spills found spill detection was unnecessarily delayed by poor training and a lack of monitoring.

On average it took pipeline operators 48 days to respond to and isolate leaking pipelines, the regulator found.

It is unknown when the spill from Trilogy’s remote pipeline began.

According to Williams, the company, in coordination with the AER, has shut in and excavated the portion of the pipeline responsible for the leak.

He said Trilogy has sent a two-metre section of the six-inch pipe to a laboratory in Edmonton for inspection.

“That is something that could take as long as a month” to review, Williams said.

He added that although he has seen pictures of the excavated pipe, he was unable to see the precise location of the leak.

“When we excavated the pipe we wanted to make sure there was no catastrophic failure or underground explosion or anything like that,” he said.

“It wasn’t spewing out, that’s for sure.”

Trilogy manages more than 1,000 kilometres of pipeline in Alberta, Williams said.

At 250,000 litres, or 1,573 barrels, the Trilogy pipeline spill is among the larger recent pipeline spills in Alberta.

In April 2011, nearly 4.5 million litres of crude oil spilled from a Plains Midstream pipeline into muskeg northeast of Peace River near the community of the Little Buffalo First Nation.

In June 2012, Plains Midstream spilled 461,000 litres of sour crude oil into the Red Deer River, a source of drinking water. The company was fined $1.3 million for violations of Alberta environmental laws in 2014.

Also in June 2012, an Enbridge pumping station spilled 230,000 litres of oil on a company site near Elk Lake.

In April of 2014, a Canadian Natural Resources Limited pipeline spilled 70,000 litres of oil and processed water into the surrounding environment at a remote location northwest of Slave Lake.

In November 2014, 60,000 litres of crude oil spilled into muskeg from another Canadian Natural Resources Limited pipeline.

One of the largest leaks in Alberta history occurred on July 2015 when a Nexen pipeline spilled 5 million litres of oil, water and sand emulsion from a pipeline at the Long Lake oilsands facility near Fort McMurray.

Image: Trilogy Energy

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The volume of a crude oil pipeline spill that occurred in an Alberta wetland remains undetermined although both the pipeline’s operator, Trilogy Energy Corp, and representatives from the Alberta Energy Regulator have been on scene since the spill was first reported October 6.

The cause of a leak in the underground pipeline, located at Trilogy’s Kaybob Montney oil project near Fox Creek, also remains undetermined, according to John Williams, Trilogy president and chief operating officer.

In a telephone interview Friday Williams said he believes the leak to be small in size and therefore “very difficult to detect.”

Williams said he preferred not to speculate on the cause of the spill.

Location of the Kaybob Montney oil project near Fox Creek, Alberta. Image: Trilogy Energy Corp

“I can speculate but that doesn’t do any good,” Williams said.

Trilogy estimates the spill covers three hectares, the equivalent of 21 tennis courts.

In 2011, a spill from a pipeline operated by Plains Midstream contaminated just over three hectares of beaver habitat and muskeg in a remote area near Little Buffalo, territory of the Lubicon Cree First Nation, after releasing 28,000 barrels of oil — almost 4.5 million litres — into the environment.

The Plains Midstream leak, discovered after a leak detection system sounded an alarm, is considered one of the largest oil spills in Alberta's history.

According to the AER the Trilogy leak was detected during an inspection and not because of a leak detection alarm.

“I’m just as interested as anyone else to get the pipe out of the ground to find out what it was that caused the leak, the size of the hole and to find out the volume,” Williams said.

Why We Still Don’t Know How Much Oil Was Spilled in an #Alberta Wetland https://t.co/bDcaRvG2fj @carollinnitt #ableg #cdnpoli #oilspill

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) October 17, 2016

A spokesperson for the Alberta Energy Regulator said they could not “predict” when the spill volume would be made public and directed DeSmog Canada to Trilogy’s website for further information.

Williams said he is resisting the pressure to release a spill volume until a more accurate measurement can be determined. Crews are currently working to excavate the pipe — a job Williams said he doesn’t expect to be completed for another week or so.

According to a company report, crews are removing contaminated soil as they dig out the pipe. Spilled oil emulsion, a mixture of oil and water, is also being pumped into storage tanks and transported to a disposal facility. The removal of contaminated material will help the company get an idea of the spill’s size.

Research shows oil and gas companies consistently underestimate spill size in their reporting.  

According to the company two dead birds, a woodpecker and “small sparrow like bird,” were found on site, covered in oil. No other impacts to wildlife have been reported.

The spill occurred in a remote wetland location, surrounded by dense bush. The location of the spill reportedly hampered emergency response efforts.

Image: Drilling near Fox Creek, Alberta. Photo: More Bike Lanes Please via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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A crude oil pipeline operated by Trilogy Energy Corp has released an unknown volume of oil emulsion, a mixture of oil and produced water, into surrounding marshland, according to the Alberta Energy Regulator.

Trilogy employees conducting a right-of-way inspection on the pipeline, located at the company’s Kaybob Montney oil project near Fox Creek, Alberta, discovered the spill on October 6.

Both the cause and volume of the spill remain undetermined.

An Alberta Energy Regulator spokesperson told DeSmog Canada that an inspector and staff are on site to ensure “an appropriate response to the incident” but could not provide more details on the spill.

An update published on Trilogy Resource’s website Tuesday evening says the pipeline has been shut in and purged to contain the source of the leak and added, “the volume of the spill has yet to be determined.”

The company, managed by Calgary Flames co-owner Clayton Riddell, estimates the spill currently covers three hectares of land, the equivalent of about 120 tennis courts, in a remote area. 

In 2011 a spill from a pipeline operated by Plains Midstream contaminated just over three hectares of beaver habitat and muskeg in a remote area near Little Buffalo, territory of the Lubicon Cree First Nation, after releasing 28,000 barrels of oil, almost 4.5 million litres, into the environment. It is considered one of the largest oil spills in Alberta's history.

According to the Alberta Energy Regulator, the Trilogy Energy spill location made the incident difficult to respond to.

“It’s tough to access. It’s really densely vegetated. The past few days have been spent creating an access to the impacted area so the crews can begin the deliniation [sic] and remediation work,” a spokesperson for the regulator told the Edmonton Journal.

Cause & Volume of #OilSpill in #Alberta Wetland Still Unknown 6 Days In https://t.co/GcYdBb4Lm7 #cdnpoli #ableg @carollinnitt

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) October 13, 2016

“Trilogy has developed a diversion plan that will minimize the infiltration of surface water and prevent further disbursement of oil,” the update from the company reads.

“Environmental specialists, wildlife experts and crews are on site assessing the situation, working closely with the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER).”

“Sampling and monitoring, recovery, waste management and wildlife and water control plans have been developed and are pending AER approval.”

The statement adds the company is collecting water and soil samples and that wetland and environmental assessments are ongoing. The company says efforts are in place to monitor and deter wildlife from entering the spill zone.

According to research conducted by the Florida State University, oil companies consistently underreport oil spill volumes, especially in instances of small spills and in remote areas.

In July, Husky Energy drew criticism for failing to properly report a pipeline spill that contaminated the North Saskatchewan River, a major source of drinking water.

An incident report on the Alberta Energy Regulator's website claims “there have been no reported impacts to wildlife” from the Trilogy pipeline release, although a spokesperson told the Edmonton Journal that response crews found two dead birds at the spill site as well as impacted beaver lodges.

A request for comment from Trilogy Resources went unanswered by time of publication.

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A Quebec citizen group is applauding a resolution by the Greater Montreal Area’s governing body asking the National Energy Board for a hydrostatic safety test of the Line 9 oil pipeline before it goes back into operation this summer.

“We would like to thank the CMM (Greater Montreal Area) and its president, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, as well as the numerous other elected bodies that have listened to the concerns of the public, and acted swiftly on this safety issue by adopting similar resolutions and forwarding them to the NEB,” Lorraine Caron, a spokesperson for the citizen group Les Citoyens au Courant, said.

The governing body, better known as the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal or Montreal Metropolitan Community, passed the resolution in a meeting on April 30. Line 9, a 39-year old Enbridge pipeline, runs through a densely populated corridor from Montreal, through Toronto and on to Sarnia in southwestern Ontario.

Citizen groups, and environmental organizations in Ontario and Quebec have been voicing concerns for over two years on whether Line 9 — the twin in age and design of the Enbridge pipeline that ruptured in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 2010 — can operate safely at an increased capacity and while transporting oilsands (also called tar sands) bitumen.

“We have been convinced by industry experts, including Richard Kuprewicz, U.S. expert on pipeline safety, that hydrostatic testing is the only way to guarantee the 639-kilometre pipeline can withstand the pressure it will be subjected to and the only way to find pinhole leaks and some types of stress corrosion cracking that could lead to rupture,” Katherine Massam of Les Citoyens au Courant stated in a press release.

Kuprewicz, who discussed Line 9 with DeSmog Canada on several occasions, believes without a hydrotest there is a 90 per cent probability the pipeline will rupture. The U.S.-based pipeline safety expert with over thirty years of experience found evidence of extensive stress corrosion cracking on the pipeline when examining Enbridge’s own documents on Line 9's condition.  

“Enbridge needs to conduct a hydrostatic test on Line 9. It is the gold standard for pipeline integrity and safety. Canada has a well-established history of hydrotesting its pipelines,” Kuprewicz told DeSmog Canada in a 2013 interview.

A hydrostatic test or hydrotest would pump water through Line 9 at similar pressures to those the pipeline is expected to operate at. The test could provide valuable information on whether Line 9 can operate safely at its proposed maximum pressure.

The NEB Can Order A Hydrotest of Line 9

When the National Energy Board (NEB), Canada’s federal pipeline regulator, approved Enbridge’s proposed changes to Line 9 — a 20 per cent increase in capacity, flow reversal, and the shipping of heavy crudes like bitumen — in March 2014, the board reserved the right to order a hydrotest if Enbridge’s updated Line 9 engineering assessment was deemed unsatisfactory.

So far, the NEB has chosen not to exercise this right.

“Our municipal officials have done their job by asking for these tests. Now we are expecting the Quebec government to do the same by following recommendations that CAPERN made in 2013, especially the one that pertains to carrying out hydrostatic tests to verify the pipeline,” Caron said. 

A committee commissioned by the Quebec government to investigate the Line 9 project in 2013 recommended Quebec request a hydrotest to ensure the pipeline would not fail.

During the Line 9 regulatory hearings in 2013, the province of Ontario also asked the NEB to conduct a hydrostatic test of the pipeline.   

Line 9 Approved, But Still Contested

Line 9 may have regulatory approval, but the project’s opponents in Ontario and Quebec certainly have not given up yet.

In a 29 – 2 decision, Toronto City Council passed a motion last April requesting the NEB not allow Enbridge to re-start Line 9 until the company installs automatic shut off valves on the pipeline at all major water crossings, the source of the city’s drinking water. Council deemed the valves necessary to halt the flow of oil through the pipeline in the event of a spill.

“This motion reflects increased resident pressure on the city to defend us all against environmental hazards,” Jessica Lyons, a member of the Toronto No Line 9 Network, said in a Toronto Media Co-op article.  

The Chippewas of the Thames, an Anishinaabe First Nation in southwestern Ontario, will appear in federal court this June to challenge Line 9 on the grounds the project violates their constitutionally protected aboriginal and treaty rights.  

“All eyes are on Energy East, but we are in the 9th inning with Line 9 right now,” Caron told DeSmog Canada.

“If Line 9 is allowed to transport tar sands oil it will set a bad precedent for all the other pipeline projects.”

Line 9 is expected to begin operating again at the end of June.

Image Credit: Oil Change International

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