January 18, 2001
17, 2001, a heavy crude oil pipeline leak occurred on an Enbridge
Pipelines Inc. line. The Enbridge Pipelines Control Centre
detected a pressure drop on Line 4. The pipeline was immediately
shutdown and a section of the line south of the Hardisty station
was isolated. Air and ground patrols in the area subsequently
discovered a release of heavy crude oil under a frozen slough.
The cause of the leak is under investigation.
Response crews from Hardisty, Edmonton and Kerrobert were
dispatched to the site. Overnight, Enbridge began recovering the
oil and putting in place plans to repair the pipeline. Officials
from the National Energy Board and the Transportation Safety Board
were notified and are on the scene.
The volume of oil released is unknown at this time, but the spill
has been contained to the slough -- an area of approximately 2.8
hectares (seven acres). Crews are on the scene recovering the oil.
Initial clean up is being conducted in compliance with standard
emergency procedures which include all government regulations and
Enbridge's stringent standards for safety and the environment.
Work is underway to install temporary piping to resume operation
of Line 4 by Friday evening. No other pipelines are affected or
restricted and they continue in full operation.
Edmonton-based Enbridge Pipelines Inc., a subsidiary of Enbridge
Inc. of Calgary, operates the world's longest crude oil and
petroleum products pipeline system. The pipeline extends almost
14,000 kilometres, crossing diverse geographic regions in one
territory, five provinces and seven states.