Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain pipeline has sprung another leak.
This one was reported to the National Energy Board on June 26 and was discovered 40 kilometres east of Hope.
This spill comes two weeks after a five-barrel spill found just south of Merritt.
The company is estimating this spill to be between 20 and 25 barrels of petroleum product.
Communications advisor for the National Energy Board Rebecca Taylor told the Herald the NEB cannot confirm Kinder Morgan’s estimation of the spill until more information is known.
Media spokesperson for Kinder Morgan Andrew Galarnyk said in a press release there are no safety or health risks identified and there are also no waterways or wildlife affected by this spill.
The press release also said contaminated soil is being safely removed and site remediation will continue to ensure the surrounding area is restored to its previous condition.
The source of the spill was a defect in the pipe, which was discovered by Kinder Morgan’s pipeline integrity program.
Crews were on site on June 26 to investigate this defect and discovered oil in the soil around the pipe at the dig site.
Kinder Morgan shut down the pipeline and notified regulators, area First Nations and local businesses.
The NEB said in a press release they were notified of the spill that same day.
The press release also said the leak was located on Crown land along the pipeline right-of-way and that there are no immediate safety concerns for local residents.
The NEB’s Emergency Response Team has been deployed to the site to monitor Kinder Morgan’s response, investigation and clean-up.
They are also conducting an investigation stemming from the discovery of the oil spill near Merritt on June 12.
Taylor said Kinder Morgan is in the process of testing to ensure they’ve excavated all of the contaminated soil, and crews have removed 80 cubic metres of contaminated soil so far.
She also said they will need National Energy Board approval before the pipeline can be restarted.
The TransMountain pipeline was restarted on June 14 after a shutdown two days earlier with the discovery of the Merritt-area spill.
“That, of course, was turned back on after they had welded a steel sleeve around the affected section of pipe,” Taylor said.
She also said the NEB restricted the pipeline to restart at 20 per cent reduction in pressure from what it had been operating at over the past 90 days prior to the June 12 spill.
Taylor said when that leak occurred, the TransMountain pipeline wasn’t running at its maximum capacity.
As for the current spill, Taylor said Kinder Morgan has welded a temporary steel sleeve around the pipeline’s anomaly so they can get the line back up and running.
“It’s not a permanent fix. The NEB will require, at some point, [that they] cut that chunk of pipe and send it for testing,” Taylor said, adding they will then need to replace that piece with new pipe.
The pipe will be sent for metallurgical testing to determine the exact cause of the leak.
Taylor said this will ensure the anomaly is permanently removed.
She said that is also what had to be done during the pipeline spill near Merritt earlier this month.
