Kinder Morgan oil spill volume from 2013 was quadruple the reported amount

12/05/14
Author: 
Jenny Uechi

After persistently prodding the National Energy Board, pipeline critic David Ellis finally got a report on Kinder Morgan's two oil spills along the Trans Mountain pipeline route. The spills happened last June, and had temporarily shut the pipeline down for investigation. What he saw on page two of Kinder Morgan's Engineering Assessment floored him. It stated that instead of just 20-25 barrels spilled near the Coquihalla Canyon, the pipeline leaked well over quadruple that amount. Ellis had wondered why Kinder Morgan was removing some 5,005 cubic metres (over 600 truckloads) of oil-contaminated soil from the area.  It seemed excessive, which led him to comment at the time: “there's been more oil spilled than [Kinder Morgan] is saying.”