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UPDATE: Crews working to prevent oil spill from spreading near Lloydminster

Jul 21, 2016 | 3:29 PM

Crews are on the scene of an oil spill in the North Saskatchewan River.

Husky Energy said it isolated a pipeline that carries blended heavy oil and diluent about 30 km east of Lloydminster the morning of Thursday, July 21. A sheen was spotted on the river nearby.

Ralph Bock, manager for hazardous materials and impacted sites for the provincial government, said the oil slick was first noticed at 10 a.m. from the Highway 21 bridge north of Maidstone.

“Through investigation and reporting and cooperation with the Ministry of Economy we determined that it was coming from a pipeline right of way adjacent to the river, about 600 m away, that flowed overland into the river and was impacting the river at that point,” Bock said.

A spokesperson for the company said spill response crews and equipment were sent to clean up the site, recover the material, and sample the water. Company officials are also working with local municipalities, property owners, and regulators.

Bock said crews were working on the river at the Paynton ferry crossing, about 40 km east of the bridge, to try to recover the oil product there and keep it from spreading further. He added the ministry was awaiting the results of an aerial survey, and couldn’t confirm if the slick had reached the Battlefords.

“As part of the work that the responsible party is undertaking, they are identifying and notifying all potential downstream users including landowners and other users which would include the town of Battleford and the city of North Battleford,” he explained.

“We’re providing advice and assistance and ensuring that we’re maintaining the government of Saskatchewan presence at the site to make sure that we’re protecting the responders and ensuring public safety, and ensuring the environment is protected,” Bock said. “We’re also protecting the infrastructure that may be involved downstream.”

According to Bock, the best estimate of the spill was a maximum of 250,000 litres, but that was subject to change. The affected pipeline is part of Husky’s Saskatchewan Gathering System.

In an email the province said at 4:30 p.m. that according to reports from the field the slick had not yet reached the Paynton ferry crossing. The Water Security Agency was contacting treatment plant operators to notify them of the oil leak, and offering information to prevent the plants from becoming contaminated should the oil reach them.

 

Geoff Smith is battlefordsNOW’s News Director, business and agriculture reporter. He can be reached at gsmith@jpbg.ca or tweet him @smithco.  

EDITOR’S NOTE – This story was updated at 4:53 p.m. July 21, 2016 to include new information obtained from an interview with Ralph Bock.