A major pipeline break in northern Alberta has environmental and First Nation groups pointing to the spill as a prime example of the risks of Enbridge Inc.'s proposed $5.5-billion oil pipeline through northern B.C.
Alberta energy regulators say 28,000 barrels of crude oil spilled from the 772-kilometre Rainbow pipeline, owned by Plains Midstream Canada, before it was discovered and shut down Friday morning.
It's the largest pipeline leak in Alberta in 36 years, and larger than Enbridge's spill last summer in Michigan, which attracted similar criticism from environmental and First Nation groups in northern B.C.
Calgary-based Enbridge said Wednesday while it can't comment on another company's pipeline, it believes it will be able to assure people of the safety of its proposed pipeline during federal regulatory hearings expected to begin later this year.
"These sorts of incidents are unsettling, but I think we can prove to people we have a good system in place, that this will be the most up-to-date pipeline with the best safety standards and the best level of design and construction available," Enbridge spokesman Paul Stanway said Wednesday.
Stanway stressed that pipelines are the safety method of transporting fuels, and spill incidents are few and far between. He pointed to Enbridge's record in 2010 where, despite the 20,000-barrel spill in Michigan, it transported 99.99 per cent of 950 million barrels of oil safely.
Energy Resources Conservation Board officials in Alberta called the 44-year-old Rainbow pipeline spill very large, but said the spill remains about 300 metres from flowing water or runoff.
More than 100 people were on site over the weekend at the spill site, about 100 kilometres northeast of Peace River, but those numbers were down by this week.
The cause of the spill has not been determined yet.
Mary MacDonald, a representative of the Prince George-based Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance, said she's concerned that northern B.C.'s rugged terrain will pose even more risks for pipelines than on the prairies.
"I just think this is a further example of the risks -- the more pipelines that are built, they'll be an increase in the number of spills. No one can guarantee there is not going to be a spill," said MacDonald.
Carrier Sekani Tribal Council vice-chief Terry Teegee said he was not surprised the 40-year-old pipeline had a leak. "There's just too many risks for the Enbridge pipeline, and this is another example that confirms that," said Teegee.
Both MacDonald and Teegee said they were nervous about the Conservative majority election win on Monday.
The federal NDP and Liberal parties have opposed the use of oil tankers of the northwest coast of B.C., necessary to transport the oil to Asia. With the election of a majority Conservative government, however, Prime Minister Harper has said he will not impose a legally binding ban on oil tanker traffic on the West Coast of Canada. A ban on tanker traffic would have scuttled the Enbridge project.
Enbridge's 1,170-kilometre Northern Gateway pipeline will carry crude from the Alberta oilsands to Kitimat for exports overseas, opening up new markets in places like oil-hungry China.
The pipeline, which will pass just north of Prince George, has considerable opposition from environmental groups, First Nations, some northern communities, as well as some tourism and fishing groups.
The Northern Gateway project is still in the preliminary stages of a joint federal panel review led by the National Energy Board which is expected to take two years.
With Canadian Press.
