Pipeline leaks on the rise in Alberta







A 9.5 million litre pipeline leak which occurred near Zama City Alberta, is the largest one of its kind in North America’s recent history.

The pipeline, which first started showing signs of leakage June 1st, is owned by a company called Apache which is based in Texas, and has been involved in 949 spills since 1975 reports Huffington Post. The liquid which leaked was ‘produced water’ which contains hydrocarbons and radioactive materials, among other things.

One of the major concerns when an incident like this occurs is the effect it has on wildlife in the surrounding areas. Keith Stewart, a spokesperson for Greenpeace expressed concern to the Huffington Post, and spoke of the importance of this ecosystem not only in Canada, but globally.

"This is a massive spill of toxics into one of the most important wetlands in Canada, if not the world,” Stewart said.

This spill has not been an isolated incident, and is one of two others which have occurred in recent days. Pace Oil and Gas Ltd reported an 800,000 litre spill of wastewater, while Plains Midstream Canada experienced a leak which resulted in a hefty 3.5 million litre leak.

Alberta’s Energy Minister Ken Hughes told the Calgary Herald on June 15th, that a faster response from industry was needed.

“I would prefer to see a more prompt response from industry in disclosing this to the regulator and to addressing any public concerns as well. We expect industry to disclose to the regulator very promptly when spills occur and that they address them, that way everyone can be assured they’re being addressed appropriately,”said Hughes.

Hughes also made it clear that no expansion was to be continued on areas which had documented cases of spills.

We also will be ensuring the company responds quickly and that there’s no expansion of the area affected and that those affects are mitigated as quickly as possible,” he continued.

The recent peak in pipeline leaks is why environmentalists are so loathe to get on board with the creation of more pipelines, such as Keystone XL pipeline which Prime Minister Harper has been trying to get U.S president Barack Obama to implement for quite some time now.

Incidents like this will do little to convince other countries to invest in our resources, and will continue to hurt damage the ecosystems of animals living in these areas.


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