http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/2015/04/15/proposed-oil-pipeline-needs-better-spill-detection
[image (map) in on-line article]
Proposed oil pipeline needs better spill detection
By Sean Chase, Daily Observer
Wednesday, April 15, 2015 7:04:52 EDT PM
SEAN CHASE/DAILY OBSERVER Dr. Alan Hepburn, with Ontario Rivers
Alliance, told Petawawa council this week that TransCanada will need to
use better spill detection equipment on its Energy East Pipeline, which
will run through the Upper Ottawa Valley past all major centres
including Deep River, Petawawa, Pembroke, Renfrew and Arnprior.
PETAWAWA - The company converting an existing natural gas pipeline so it
can transport oil must institute better spill detection equipment and
protocols says a local environment protection group.
Representing Ontario Rivers Alliance, Dr. Alan Hepburn told council they
should be concerned about sections of the proposed TransCanada Energy
East pipeline that will run in close proximity to Petawawa. He noted the
pipe slated for conversion has been in the ground for 20 to 40 years and
is subject to metal fatigue and degrading of the interior coating.
The Energy East pipeline is an ambitious $12 billion project which would
see a 4,500-kilometre pipeline built to carry 1.1 million barrels of
crude oil per day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Eastern
Canada. This would be a combination of 1,400 kilometres of new pipeline
construction linking up with 3,000 kilometres of existing natural gas
pipeline, including the line which runs through the Ottawa Valley, which
will be converted to carry crude oil.
In his assessment of the condition of the pipeline, Hepburn explained
that a 10-metre section the pipeline would have to accommodate 8,700
kilograms of oil, an increase 17 times more than the gas it currently
carries. His largest concerns, however, were confined to the potential
for leaks. As an example, he said there were nine spills involving 5,200
kilometres of large crude oil pipelines in Alberta over a period of 22
years that saw the release of more than 10 cubic metres of oil.
The average release in a pipeline spill was 1,400 cubic metres of crude
oil. Considering there is 2,000 kilometres of pipeline in Ontario, he
estimated a major release involving pipelines in this province once
every seven years. Further he added there could be one leak every ten
years for the converted line in Ontario.
Hepburn was also critical of the standard leak detection instrumentation
employed by companies which he said appears to be designed to detect
economically significant leaks only. For example, the 48-year-old
Rainbow pipeline at cracked in 2011 releasing 4.5 million litres of oil
into low-lying marshlands near the northern Alberta community of Little
Buffalo. It had released 4,500 cubic metres before the leak was detected.
Hepburn stressed that the maximum size of an environmentally
insignificant leak should be determined and then proponents should be
required to install systems that can detect any leak above this
threshold. In addition, he said regulators should take into
consideration the pipeline runs along an earthquake zone and that an
independent seismic analysis should be conducted.
"They have to represent themselves to the National Energy Board to make
sure that steps are taken to reduce the potential for leaks throughout
the entire length of the pipeline," Hepburn said later. "Right now the
minimum size of leaks they can detect are quite massive."
Councillor James Carmody said that municipal oversight of the project is
essential, however, he anticipated their voices would not be heard.
"Something that's in the national interest would have a tendency to
dilute the municipal interest," he said. "It's incumbent upon us to
protect our own water supplies."
Deputy Mayor Tom Mohns agreed that the municipalities have a bigger
stake adding he is concerned about the response time by the company to
shut down a line once a leak has been discovered.
"If we have a mess in this area, they could care less," said Mohns. "It
will be up to us to clean it up in the end."
TransCanada hopes to receive final regulatory approval by the end of
2015. It is anticipated the project will be completed and operational by
2018.
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