Husky Energy Spill in Saskatchewan Exposes Major Flaws in Pipeline Monitoring and Cleanup

July 30, 2016 - 

It’s been a full 10 days since a Husky Energy pipeline spewed 250,000 litres of heavy oil and diluent into the North Saskatchewan River near Maidstone, Sask.

But it’s still totally unclear if the incident — which has forced North Battleford and Prince Albert to shut down their water intake systems and Muskoday First Nation to declare a state of emergency — was an accident or a pre-meditated false flag by a crew of anti-pipeline activists disguised as bumbling politicians and oil execs attempting to prove why Canada’s pipeline approval and regulation process is fatally flawed.

We jest, obviously.

But the situation has indeed come at an incredibly bad time for pipeline companies, given that public hearings for Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion are underway (with that process already heavily criticized), while those for TransCanada’s Energy East are set to begin on August 8.

Husky Waited 14 Hours Before Cutting Off Flow, Reporting Breach

At around 8 a.m. on July 20, Husky Energy detected “pressure anomalies” in its Saskatchewan Gathering System, which transports heavy oil to an upgrader in Lloydminster.

The “anomalies” started after Husky turned on the flow for 23 kilometres of a pipeline expansion project, which the Saskatchewan ministry of environment decided in 2014 didn’t require an environmental impact assessment.

(On Friday, CBC noted that Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall attended the opening of another part of the system’s expansion in March, stating at the time that it was evidence the “despite low oil prices, our province's energy sector continues to attract billions of dollars in new investment.”)

Husky has assured the spill was caused from a section in 1997 and not part of the new construction, although it’s unclear how the expansion may have affected the older infrastructure.

On the evening of July 20, the company dispatched a crew to the site, but they “did not identify a leak.” It wasn’t until 10 a.m. on July 21 that Husky decided to cut the pipeline’s flow and notify the provincial government. The company has since submitted an amended report that indicated it actually reported the spill within 30 minutes of discovering it, although that contradicts all its previous statements.

Two days after the spill, a government official told Global News that containment booms set up on the river had failed, with oil floating overtop of the barriers.

It was also on that day that Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall issued his first statement, oddly choosing to emphasize that oil that isn’t transported by pipeline will move by rail: “We know that rail is actually more susceptible to spills and spills are often more intense,” he said.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley echoed Wall’s angle with near precision: “Absolutely the safest way to transport oil and gas is by pipeline and so the key is to ensure that we incorporate the safest mechanisms possible, the highest standards in terms of pipeline safety and pipeline monitoring, and also the highest standards in terms of cleanup.”

That will surely make the residents of North Battleford feel better about their lives.

In the days to follow, oil-covered birds were pulled from the river, Prince Albert shut down its water intake (cutting off nearby rural areas and banning excess use for watering lawns and use in car washes and laundromats) and news broke that the Saskatchewan government had recently cut the budget to the office tasked with inspecting pipelines.

“Highest standards,” indeed.