No injuries reported as pipeline rupture cleanup underway near Swan Hills
EDMONTON - Crews have contained a spill of crude oil into Judy Creek, following a pipeline rupture and subsequent explosion and fire at a Pengrowth Energy satellite station near Swan Hills on Sunday.
The Energy Resources Conservation Board is investigating and has staff at the site, about 23 kilometres southwest of town.
A cleanup is well underway, said ERCB spokesman Darin Barter.
“There is a spill co-op in the area, and they were out with the booms very quickly,” he said.
As well as the booms of absorbent materials, vacuum trucks and collection tanks are on-site. There have been no confirmed wildlife impacts to date.
Barter said while the size of the spill of light, sweet crude oil is unconfirmed, a visual inspection of the site suggests it is much smaller than the recent 28,000-barrel pipeline rupture and spill near Little Buffalo.
“This one is nowhere close to that size.”
The pipeline has been shut in and depressurized. There were no injuries and no direct public impact as a result of the explosion or subsequent pipeline release, Barter added.
The ERCB will determine the cause and size of the spill as part of its examination of the accident.
