By Angela Brown

One year since Husky oil spill: cleanup nears end, no charges yet

Jul 20, 2017 | 2:04 PM

Official from the City of North Battleford are remaining pragmatic in response to the past year’s challenges on the one-year anniversary of the Husky Energy oil spill.

A total of 225,000 litres of oil spilled from a crack in a section of pipe carrying oil near Maidstone, about 160 metres from the banks of the North Saskatchewan River on July 21, 2016. While the spill was identified the morning of July 21, a provincial internal investigation revealed the leak actually started on July 20, 2016.  

Husky continued its cleanup in the Finlayson Island area in North Battleford this spring and summer. It completed the cleanup and assessment work, and expected its monitoring work would be finished by the end of July.

Following last year’s old spill, the City of Battleford began using the Town of Battleford’s water supply to supplement its system since it wasn’t able to source water from the North Saskatchewan River. Husky constructed a pipeline for the project.

The city hasn’t determined when it will stop using the town’s water but expects it could be soon.

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“It’s unfortunate [the spill] happened but I think that the partnership that has been developed by the administration within the city as well as Husky Energy was very positive in addressing the problem quickly, responsibly, and ensuring the least possible amount of disruption to city residents – in terms of accessing a safe, secure supply of drinking water,” said N.B. Mayor Ryan Bater. “It’s fortunate we had two water plants because we were able to continue using Water Treatment Plant Number 1 [supplied by well-water] throughout the entire process. Husky Energy has been very open with us. The communication has been very strong and they have been a very responsible corporate citizen, in terms of taking responsibility for what happened, and doing everything in their power to correct it.”   

“The pipe is still flowing water from Battleford to North Battleford,” added Bater. “This will continue until the testing is complete and we get the okay from the Water Security Agency to start using the F.E. Holliday Water Treatment Plant to get surface water from the river.”

The city has also been using a GE filtration system, which filters out hydrocarbons at the Holliday plant.

The mayor added he thanks the town of Battleford for its help.

“We’re very happy our friends in the town of Battleford were able to work with us to meet the needs we have, in terms of water usage,” he said. “I think it says a lot about our special relationship between Battleford and North Battleford.”

Bater confirmed the city is being reimbursed by Husky Energy for any costs related to the oil spill cleanup response.

“My understanding is that testing has been done on a regular basis this entire time,” added Bater. “That will continue to the end of the month. In addition, Husky has conducted shoreline analysis and cleanup. They are at a point now where they aren’t finding any more hydrocarbons within the sediment, nor are they finding any in the river itself. So, it is very likely we will be back to using the Holliday water plant very soon.”

In March, the province announced it was pursuing new legislation to help improve procedures if a similar event were to happen again. This is in follow up after reviewing a report investigating the details of the accident, which outlined the cause of the oil spill and the action taken by Husky when the spill was identified on July 21, 2016.

The Pipelines Amendment Act, Bill 43, outlines best practices for the industry to help prevent a similar incident from happening again. 

In the report, the province indicates the changes will “address a variety of gaps” in the current legislation. The province was also to forward the report to prosecutors to review. There has been no report of whether there will be any charges laid related to the Husky oil spill.  

“The files from Environment and Economy have been forwarded to prosecutions who continue to reviewing the matter. They need to make that determination, and there is no timeline on that decision at this time,” said provincial spokesperson Karen Hill in an email to Battlefords Now.

Husky Energy had previously released a statement indicating it takes full responsibility for the events at the time of the spill. The cause of the pipe rupture was due to ground movement. The company said it would make improvements to its systems and operating procedures following the review, including ensuring new pipelines at river crossings would include additional safety loading factors, which increases the force that can be exerted on the pipeline.

On the continued spill cleanup, assessment and monitoring work, Husky Energy spokesperson Mel Duvall said Husky is working with a variety of groups in the overall continuing cleanup, related to the origin of the spill. 

“We found some sporadic spotting of oil debris and wood, and various other materials, which we suspect got there from the high water events last year,” he said. “There hasn’t been a lot, and the work is going well.”

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW