Oil spill cleanup in central Alberta ramps up
Posted Jun 11, 2012 7:19 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Over the weekend, crews from a number of companies converged at the site of a 3,000 barrel oil spill north of Red Deer.
The oil escaped from a non-working pipeline operated by Plains Midstream Canada late last week.
Company VP Stephen Bart says so far they have not come across animals in distress.
Bart says some of the people on foot patrols are carrying noise devices to scare birds away from oil-affected areas.
He says two things helped prevent the spill from being much worse: the pipeline was not operating at the time; and recent rains pushed up water levels, helping wash most of the oil into the Gleniffer Reservoir where it has been contained by booms.
There’s speculation cleanup could take most of the summer.
Residents are being told to stay away from the impacted waterways.
Queen’s University biology professor Peter Hodson says the bad thing about high water levels is they coat riverbanks with oil as they subside.
He’s also urging cleanup crews to be extra careful so they don’t destroy eco-sensitive areas as they do their work.
An investigation into the release of almost 500,000 litres of oil has been launched, and the province is optimistic damage will be minor.
