Plains Midstream charged in Red Deer River pipeline spill

Charges have been laid against the owner of apipeline that leaked nearly half a million litres of oil into acentral Albertariver.

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The Alberta Energy Regulator says Plains Midstream faces a chargeunder the federal Fisheries Act as well as a provincial charge offailing to report the leak as required by law.

The spill from the Rangeland pipeline on June 7, 2012, wasdiscovered when landowners just north of Sundre began phoning inreports of a rotten egg smellthe telltale odour of sour gas orsour oil.

The spill of 461,000-litre spill was soon tracked to JacksonCreek, which flows into the Red Deer River.

A report by Alberta's energy watchdog released earlier this yearwas critical of the company's actions.

Pipelinenot inspectedenough, says report

The regulator concluded Plains Midstream didn't inspect itspipeline often enough and didn't pay enough attention to governmentwarnings.

It also said the company failed to enact adequate mitigation measures once the leak occurred and communicated poorly with hundreds of people affected by the spill.

The report found that heavy rains had swollen flows to 10 timesthe normal amount.

The regulator concluded that the heavy flow eroded the riverbedaround the pipe and exposed it. The pipeline then experienced a"guillotine failure" at a weld circling the pipe.

Although the report concluded there were no structural problemswith the 50-year-old line, the investigation found the frequency ofthe company's inspections met neither provincial rules nor its ownguidelines.

Plains also failed to take advantage of warnings, the reportsaid.

"Had Plains responded to the government of Alberta's highstreamflow advisory issued prior to the incident, it could haveisolated, cleaned and purged the pipeline section, leaving thepipeline in a safe condition."

The region where the leak happened was considered pristinewilderness by many and is used by campers, huntersand fishers,though the immediate area around the spill was mostly ranchland.

The community of Sundre was upriver from the spill, but the cityof Red Deer was downstream, as was the Gleniffer reservoir, apopular boating and recreational lake.

Many affected by the spill

Booms to catch oil were set up on the Glenifferreservoir. The marina and campground were closed and fishing shut down. Drinking water was trucked in for people in 750 recreation lots and permanent homes.

Rafting, fishing and guiding businesses were affected.

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More than 170 people were at one time cleaning up the spill withlake-surface skimmers and absorbent. Wildlife deterrents were placed along the banks to keep animals away.

Still, people reported oil pooling along the highly braided river margins or mixing with silt and sediments. Oil also collected inprotected spots such as the Butcher Creek Natural Area.

The regulator ordered Plains to update its emergency response andcommunications plans. It also had to submit aproposal detailing how the company would prevent future regulatory non-compliance.

In a statement responding to the report, the company said it was working to meet its requirements.

"Plains has worked diligently to fulfill our commitment to clean up the release and mitigate impacts as a result of the incident," the company said at the time. "Plains has taken significant stepssince the incident to reduce the potential for further incidents to occur."

The section of pipe that failed has since been abandoned.