Nexen Energy pipeline spill prompts environmental protection order

Alberta's energy regulator has issued an environmentalprotection order after a massive pipeline spill in the northern part of the province earlier this week.

The order directs NexenEnergy to contain the spill, which saw five million litres of bitumen, sand and water releasedat the company'sLong Lake oilsands facility near Fort McMurray.

It also instructs Nexen to alert affected parties and develop a cleanup plan.

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In a public apology issuedFriday, the Calgary-based company said that the spill had alreadybeen contained and was in the process of being cleaned up.

The energy regulator is now investigating the spill, which was discovered by a contractor Wednesday. It is not known how long the leak had been ongoing before it was found. Nexen saidthe warning system for a pipeline installed last year failed to detect a break.

"We are deeply concerned with this," said Ron Bailey, Nexen's senior vice-president of Canadian operations. "We sincerely apologize for the impact this had caused."

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The material leaked through what Bailey says was a"visible burst" in the pipeline,a double-walled, high-pressureline installed in 2014. Bailey said the line was shut down immediately after the leak was discovered.

The detection system did not work in this case, so it isn't known how long the substancewas leaking. A contractor walking along the pipeline discovered the spill.

"This is a modern pipeline," Baileysaid. "We have pipeline integrity equipment, some very good equipment," he said. "Our investigation is looking through exactly why that wasn't alerting us earlier."

The spill covers an area of about 16,000 square metres, the size of approximately two CFL football fields. Bailey said it is mostlycontained within the pipeline's immediate area.

The area can only be reached by a winter access road, so the company had to build a road into the site. Bailey said vacuuming of theoil started Friday. The site is contained by berms and other abatement equipment.

Bailey declined to name the company that manufactured the pipeline.

Despite the scope of the incident,Alberta Premier RachelNotleysaid pipelines are still the best way to transport oil and gas.

"For instance, in Quebec, they know full well that rail is much more problematic a transportation method," Notley toldCBC'sEdmonton AMon Friday.

"Even within this unfortunate accident, which I'm troubled by."

Notley is attending the Council of the Federation meeting in St. John's, where premiers agreed to a national energy strategy.

She said her government is getting regular updates about the spill.

"We'll be doing an investigation into what went wrong and what happened with respect to how long the leak was in place and whether everything was done to catch it as soon as it could be, as well as to prevent it at the outset," she said.

"Unfortunately, there's nothing we can say except that we are going to learn from this."

'Extremely serious'impact

First Nations groups in northern Alberta are calling for tighter environmental regulations on pipelines, saying they are concerned that more spills will happen in the future.

A spokesman forthe ACFNsaid a spill this big will have an"extremely serious" impact on the muskeg, which is a source of aboriginalmedicines, berries and wild game.

"There is no way to clean or reclaim the muskeg," saidErielDerangerin a news release Friday. "Destruction and contamination like this that directly affects akey component of our ecosystems is affecting First Nations' ability to access lands and territories for hunting, fishing, gathering and trapping rights, rights protected by both the Constitution and our treaties."

Adamsaidthe spill is "dangerously close" to the Clearwater River, whichflows directly into the Athabasca River.

"The repercussions from the incident could potentially be felt far and wide by those that rely on the Athabasca basin," he said.

He said both pipeline companies and government need to commit to better environmental stands, and also called for a better consultation process for projects that could impact aboriginal groups.

"I think it's time for the government and industry to come to terms with the fact that the rights and title of First Nation people are interdependent with flourishing, clean and healthy eco-systems," he said.

Robert Cree, an elder with the Fort McMurray First Nation, said he was "shocked, but not surprised" by the news of the pipeline break.

Cree, who has hunted in the area now affected by the spill, worries that even after the cleanup is completed, the chemicals will have a lasting effect on the animals living nearby.

"How are they going to sustain the wildlife, how are they going to prevent the wildlife from getting into the area?" he said.

Saturday, the Wood BuffaloEnvironmentalAssociation said it has seen no impact on air quality in the wake of the spill.

In April 2011, a Plains Midstream Canada ULC pipeline leaked 4.5 million litres of crude oil near a First Nations community in northwest Alberta.

That leak was the largest in the province in 35 years. It contaminated more than three hectares of beaver ponds and muskeg in a densely forested area.