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UPDATE – TSB Releases Report on 2020 Kinder Morgan Oil Spill in Abbotsford (VIDEO)

Abbotsford/Vancouver (with files from Peter McCartney/Wilderness Community) – APRIL 13, 2021 UPDATE – The Transportation Safety Board of Canada released its investigation report into the 12 June 2020 release of crude oil from the Trans Mountain pipeline at the Sumas Pump Station near Abbotsford.

The TSB conducted a limited-scope, fact-gathering investigation into this occurrence to advance transportation safety through greater awareness of potential safety issues.

The TSB citied:

  • a failed compression fitting;
  • a section of tubing on which the failed fitting was installed (the occurrence tube); and
  • comparison tubes and fittings from the same tubing system.

Site remediation of both the north and south sections of the property started on 13 June 2020, once the site was safe for access.

Soils affected by the released product were excavated to the extent practicable while considering geotechnical and facility integrity constraints. At locations where excavations extended to the groundwater table, vacuum trucks were used to recover free product (as an oil-water mixture) from the groundwater.

For remaining contaminants that could not be physically removed from the site, a multi-year remediation plan has been developed. The most appropriate remediation methods will be selected and implemented based on the results of continued monitoring and testing of the soil and groundwater.

The TSB went on to state:

Trans Mountain has undertaken the following actions as a result of this occurrence:

  • Develop a procedure to verify the integrity of the existing tubing systems.
  • Develop an internal standard outlining the requirements for the construction and quality assurance of new tubing systems, as well as a procedure for the installation of tubing systems by Trans Mountain personnel.
  • Add an automated isolation valve on the inlet of the EOS tubing system and a check valve on the outlet.
  • Reconfigure the ESD logic to allow select automated valves to be actuated remotely after an ESD.
  • Initiate a project, to be completed by summer 2021, to upgrade the Sumas Pump Station, including the installation of:
    • containment and drainage features;
    • a new oil-water separator, which will discharge to a new PVC culvert, manhole and collection basin system before ultimately discharging through a final isolation valve; and
    • a lined containment area around the station’s above-ground piping.

See the investigation page for more information.

ORIGINAL STORY – JUNE 19,2020- On Friday, Kinder Morgan released a short and tersely worded update on the recent Sumas Pump Station Oil Spill –

Trans Mountain’s Incident Command Post has been stood down and the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) has concluded its on-site response.

Clean-up and remediation work at the Sumas Pump Station will continue with the CER Remediation Process Guide. This includes ongoing air and groundwater monitoring.

Trans Mountain is fully cooperating with investigative efforts of the Canada Energy Regulator and Transportation Safety Board.

ORIGINAL STORY JUNE 16 – Wilderness Committee drone photos taken late Sunday afternoon show the extent of an oil spill this weekend from the Trans Mountain pipeline, despite the company’s attempts to minimize the situation.

“We’re talking about a major oil spill in a waterlogged field that sits above the Sumas aquifer,” said Climate Campaigner Peter McCartney. “This is a disaster.”

Trans Mountain says its pipeline spilt 150,000 to 190,000 litres of crude oil on Saturday morning and images show the spill was not cleaned up by the time the company planned on restarting the flow of oil. It rained throughout the weekend.

This is only the latest of around 90 major spills from the 67-year old pipeline and highlights the extreme risks to local ecosystems posed by the federal government’s planned expansion of the project.

“We tend to think of spills as single events but over the lifetime of a pipeline, they have an enormous impact on local ecosystems,” said McCartney. “That’s why we’re so resolute in opposing a brand new line — triple the oil means triple the consequences.”

Trans Mountain started construction of its new line in British Columbia just two weeks ago in the Kamloops area. It will have to cross over 1,000 streams and rivers in the province and at least 28 aquifers. A majority of affected First Nations have never given consent for the pipeline to cross their territories, including the Sumas First Nation whose lands and waters will suffer from this weekend’s spill.

Wilderness Committee

The David Suzuki Foundation released a statement as well:

Sunday’s crude oil spill from the Trans Mountain Pipeline is a stark reminder that accidents are bound to occur with this type of fossil fuel infrastructure. The spill leaked 1,195 barrels (up to 190,000 litres) of oil just south of the Lightning Rock site. As much as five large trucks would be required to transport the equivalent amount of crude oil.  

“As long as Canada continues to transport oil, spills will happen – and they will always create the risk of detrimental impacts on nature and people,” David Suzuki Foundation director general for Western Canada Jay Ritchlin said. “We need to rapidly pursue a just transition away from this toxic and outdated fuel, so we can protect wildlife like salmon and orca, combat the climate crisis and maintain the well-being of our communities.”  

Oil spills affect people and nature. The spill site is near a cultural site and burial grounds of the Sema:th First Nation and Stό:lō Coast Salish Peoples.  

“It is unacceptable that Sema:th First Nation’s monitors were not cleared to access the spill site for 12 hours after the accident,” Ritchlin said. “At a minimum, we need full transparency and inclusion of Indigenous nations when any spill occurs. They need to have continuous access to monitoring stations and the ability to see with their own eyes what has occurred on their unceded territory. This is a key part of reconciliation and environmental justice.”  

Trans Mountain has reported approximately 84 spills since 1961 – more than one accident per year. Every oil spill is different, but they are united by the damage they can inflict on nature and human health. Oil can linger in the environment and spills do not necessarily stay put. They can move through the soil and contaminate groundwater or evaporate, sending toxic chemicals into the air.  

In this case, the oil flowed to an adjacent field owned by Trans Mountain and leased for agricultural uses. The company’s on-site monitoring has not indicated an immediate threat; provincial authorities need to confirm that assessment.  

“It’s concerning that the spill occurred where a lake used to exist and where the groundwater is a local potable water source,” Ritchlin said. 

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