http://canadians.org/media/report-shows-energy-east-great-risk-gatineau-and-ottawa-drinking-water
[The current TCP pipeline across the Rideau River is used to transport
natural gas. The proposal has this section of pipeline being
re-purposed to carry heated dilbit under higher pressure than the
current use.
In the full report, it is worth noting that while TCP claims they can
shut down the pipeline in 13 minutes from a spill event (to be detected
by their monitoring system), in an examination of 23 major pipeline
spill events in North America since 2006, none has ever been shutdown in
13 minutes or less. In the most recent event in Saskatchewan (Husky
Energy pipeline spill), the spill went unchecked for 14 hours. (There
have been many more than 23 pipeline spills in North America in the past
decade.)
Iced water (the Rideau and Ottawa Rivers freeze over in winter) will
complicate spill clean-up further.
map image in on-line article]
Report shows Energy East great risk to Gatineau and Ottawa drinking water
Media Release
October 5, 2016
World heritage site and river directly threatened by pipeline spill
Ottawa, ON - A spill from the proposed Energy East pipeline could have
catastrophic impacts on the Rideau, Mississippi and Ottawa rivers, and
put the region’s drinking water at risk. These are the findings of a new
report by the independent Montreal-based technical firm Savaria
Experts-Conseils Inc.
“The proposed Energy East pipeline would cross 68 watercourses in the
Rideau and Mississippi watersheds, including the Rideau and Mississippi
rivers,” says Abdelkader Aiachi, a Savaria Experts-Conseils geoscientist
with expertise in geochemical and hydrogeochemical modeling, water
quality monitoring and environmental impact assessment, and a Ph.D. in
Isotope Hydrogeology. “A spill in one of those rivers would impact water
quality, aquatic ecosystems and recreational activities.”
“A spill that is allowed to flow down the Rideau River for 48 hours
would run through the heart of the City of Ottawa and reach one of
Gatineau’s drinking water sources,” says Aiachi. “Similarly, and this
does depend on a variety of factors, a spill in the Mississippi would
affect Gatineau and Ottawa drinking water sources after about 60 hours.”
The report reviews case studies of significant spills in North America
and finds that the response time to shut off valves is on average 16
hours. Notably, it took 14 hours for Husky Energy to react to the recent
North Saskatchewan spill. The trouble the company had controlling and
recovering the 250,000 litres of spilled heavy oil resulted in closures
of drinking water intakes and the oil flowing over 500 kilometres
downstream.
The report also points to the Kalamazoo River spill as an example of how
expensive clean-up can be. It took over five years and cost Enbridge
over $1 billion (USD) to clean up the 2010 spill and there are still
some traces of oil found in the sediments.
“It’s time for the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau to take definitive
action to oppose the Energy East pipeline,” says Graham Saul, Executive
Director of Ecology Ottawa. “The risk is far too great and it directly
threatens the Rideau Canal, which is a World Heritage site, as well as
the Ottawa River, which was recently designated as a Canadian Heritage
River by Minister McKenna.”
“The Energy East pipeline runs straight through the Baxter ecological
conservation area,” says Daniel Cayley-Daoust, Energy and Climate
Campaigner with the Council of Canadians. “A spill in that wetland could
cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem. Energy East is all risk and
no reward.”
Savaria Experts-Conseils Inc. is an engineering consulting firm
specializing in site characterization and remediation as well as in the
implementation of environmental conservation and protection measures.
You can read the full report here.
(http://canadians.org/sites/default/files/publications/report-energyeast-impacts-ottawa.pdf)
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Graham Saul, Executive Director, Ecology Ottawa, 613-710-2819,
graham.s...@ecologyottawa.ca
Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685,
dpen...@canadians.org
Summary of important findings from the Savaria report:
1. Features of the Energy East Pipeline Project
Length: 4500 km.
Capacity: 174 million litres of oil per day -- largest project of
oil products transportation in Canada.
Crosses the Rideau river just north of Kemptville, near the Baxter
Conservation Area.
Crosses the Mississippi River just north of Pakenham.
Crosses 68 watercourses in the Rideau and Mississippi watersheds.
Will transport 3 types of crude oils: Conventional light crude oil,
synthetic crude oil and diluted bitumen.
2. Threat to drinking water of an Energy East spill in the Rideau and
Mississippi Rivers
Ottawa and Gatineau surface water intakes are approximately 52 km
downstream of pipeline crossing on the Rideau River.
According to Savaria’s modelling, it would take about 48 hours
for oil spilled in the river to reach the water intake sources.
Ottawa and Gatineau surface water intakes are approximately 60 km
downstream of the pipeline crossing on the Mississippi River.
According to Savaria’s modelling, it would take about 60 hours
for oil spilled in the river to reach the water intake sources.
In comparison, the Husky spill in Saskatchewan travelled over 500
km and the Kalamazoo spill travelled approximately 60 km. Further
comparison shows that drinking water sources for over 70,000 people were
closed along the North Saskatchewan River for over a month.
Data from other catastrophic spills shows that it has taken from 8
hours to 2 weeks to notice and react to spills, and that it was often
done by visual confirmation rather than using technology.
The pipeline crosses over the Oxford aquifer that many private well
owners take their water from. The aquifer is shallow and vulnerable to
potential oil spills in certain areas.
3. Direct impact of a spill in one of the rivers
Impacts on aquatic ecosystems - e.g. death or injury to wildlife
(birds, fish, amphibians, etc.), disruption of parts of aquatic
lifecycles, disruption and death of flora, etc.
Disruption or interruption of recreational activities - e.g. Beach
closures, swimming, canoeing/kayaking/boat use, fishing
Loss of economic activity - e.g. lower reputation of city/tourist
sites, disruption of tourist sites (e.g. canal, beaches, conservation
area, water sports, tour boats, etc.), etc.
Oil or bitumen can spread to shore lines - e.g. impacting
terrestrial fauna and flora.
Can mix in the sediments at the bottom of the river - e.g. can make
sediments unlivable or modify conditions for aquatic
fauna/insects/plants that usually live there.
Clean-up and intervention costs for a catastrophic spills can reach
over $1 billion.
4. Potential quantity of oil spilled - catastrophic spill modelling
(full pipeline rupture)
Scenario 1 - Valves are shut within 13 minutes (TransCanada’s
promise): 2 to 10 million litres of oil spilled.
Scenario 2 - Valves are shut within 120 minutes: 15 to 23 million
litres of oil spilled.
These are extremely optimistic scenarios and take for granted that
staff are properly trained and won’t make an error, that equipment works
perfectly. In other cases of catastrophic spills, reaction time to shut
down valves has been much higher than 120 minutes.
Because this is a very large pipeline, even in these optimistic
scenarios, quantities of oil spilled will be high.
Valve placement will impact how much oil will spill.
5. Threat to water in the region
A spill in the Mississippi river would reach the Ottawa river in
about 14 hours (about 14 km distance).
The pipeline goes through many wetlands including the Baxter
Conservation Area (80 Ha) -- A spill could cause irreversible damage on
the ecosystem and could cost up to $250,000 per hectare to clean up,
usually by replacing the wetland.
6. Case study #1 - Husky Energy oil spill in the North Saskatchewan
River (July 2016)
Estimated 250,000 litres of oil spilled.
14 hours passed before the company alerted the government and shut
down its valves.
Oil traveled over 500 km downstream.
7. Case study #2 - Enbridge Line 6b oil spill in the Kalamazoo River,
Michigan (July 2010)
Estimated 3.3 million litres of oil spilled.
The company shut off valves after a fieldworker alerted the company
of the spill 17 hours after the first alarm had gone off.
Oil had spread 60 kilometers downstream.
It cost Enbridge over $1.2 billion to clean up.
You can read the full report here.
(http://canadians.org/sites/default/files/publications/report-energyeast-impacts-ottawa.pdf)
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