Apology issued in wake of massive oil spill
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The president of the Calgary-based company that owns and operates a pipeline that ruptured last week, spilling 4.5-million litres of crude oil into surrounding soil and water, has apologized for the way the incident has been handled.
"I want to express my deep regret for the impact of this incident," said David Duckett, president of Plains Midstream Canada. "I apologize that we have not had more direct communication."
The spill occurred on April 29 about 100 kilometres northeast of Peace River, but wasn't made public until days later.
Duckett revealed there are now 300 people on site working to clean up the spill, and admitted that completion of the job could take two to four months.
The break has been repaired but Plains will need regulatory approval from the Energy Resources Conservation Board before the pipeline can be restarted. The ruptured segment of pipe has been removed and sent to an Edmonton lab.
In Edmonton, Premier Ed Stelmach stressed his confidence in the ERCB, calling the agency, "probably an authority that has the most experience in the world."
Meanwhile, Greenpeace Canada is calling on the province to disclose all information it has on the Rainbow pipeline, including data on a one-million litre spill from the same pipeline in 2006.
Greenpeace energy campaigner Melina Laboucan-Massimo said the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board found that the 2006 leak was caused by "stress corrosion cracking, fatigue cracking and external coating failure."
"It is time the Alberta government disclosed all information on the follow-up to the changes it ordered, and whether the company cut back on maintenance," Laboucan-Massimo said.
Stelmach says the pipeline won't be allowed to restart until all government agencies are satisfied the incident has been dealt with appropriately.
"ERCB is there full-time, so is Alberta Environment and so is Alberta Health because public safety is the number one priority," Stelmach said.
As of Friday afternoon approximately 20 per cent of the spilled oil had been recoverd.
