Crude Oil Release near Abbotsford

DISCLAIMER: Information provided is based on reports received by Emergency Management B.C. Information provided is considered to be current at the time of posting, but is subject to change as new information becomes available.

Incident Description

Incident Date	June 12, 2020
Name	Crude Oil Release near Abbotsford (DGIR: 200917 )
Source	Pipeline
Nearest Community	Abbotsford, BC
Spilled Content	Crude Oil
Who is involved?	Abbotsford Fire Department, TransMountain, Sema:th Sumas First Nation, Canada Energy Regulator, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Transport Canada, B.C. Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy (ENV), Nucor Environmental Solutions Ltd.

 

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Response Phase Detail

The responsible person or spiller is legally required to clean-up or manage the clean-up of a spill. In incidents where the responsible person is unknown, unable or unwilling to manage the clean up, the Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy (ENV) may assume the role. The updates below reflect the Ministry’s oversight of the spillers’ actions; details describe the spill response phase, only, and not the complete lifecycle of the spill. See More Information for other related reports. 

Updates are in reverse chronological order, with the most recent at the top. Industry-specific language may be explained in the Glossary of Terms (PDF).

Most Recent Update

August 24, 2020 - 4:40 pm

Spill cleanup is continuing by Trans Mountain with a focus remaining on the excavation of contaminated soils and skimming of oil - water mixture from standpipes. Ground water wells continue to be monitored and show no signs of off-site migration.

Trans Mountain continues to provide regular updates and host weekly conference calls with Provincial, Federal and Indigenous partners.

Environmental Emergency Response Officers (EERO) from the B. C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) continue to monitor this incident and will provide updates as information is available.

July 27, 2020 - 2:00 pm

Trans Mountain continues to excavate contaminated soils and skim oil-water mixture from stand pipes on-site. Geotechnical engineers are also working to ensure the stability of piping and support structures during excavations.

Groundwater monitoring wells continue to indicate no spilled material or signs of off-site migration. Two of those wells however, did show exceedances to water quality guidelines. As such, groundwater, as well as air quality and wildlife monitoring will continue.

Trans Mountain is providing daily environmental updates to Federal and Provincial Agencies and Sumas First Nation. The B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) continues to monitor this incident and will provide updates when the situation changes.

July 10, 2020 - 3:30 pm

Recovery and remediation efforts continue on-site and will remain a priority going forward. Waste generated from this incident has been authorized for disposal at the proper facilities.

Water monitoring wells have shown no visible oil which indicates the spilled material has remained on Trans Mountain property. Water samples were collected from a nearby property and showed no signs of contamination. Notifications have been sent to all water users within a 1.0km radius of the site.

Trans Mountain will continue to provide regular updates to the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV). Environmental Emergency Response Officers (EERO) continue to monitor this incident closely and will provide updates when the situation changes.

June 30, 2020 - 5:30 pm

The removal of impacted soil from site continues and is expected to be completed by the end of the week. Landowners in the surrounding areas are being updated of the possible impacts to groundwater as a result of the spill.

An Environmental Emergency Response Officer (EERO) from the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) continues to monitor the incident.

Further information will be provided as it becomes available.

June 26, 2020 - 7:00 pm

Crews continue to remove impacted soil and liquid material from the site. Groundwater monitoring wells were installed earlier this week and they have not shown indications of off-site migration at this time. Additional monitoring wells are being installed around the spill site to better assess any potential contamination.

An Environmental Emergency Response Officer (EERO) from the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) continues to monitor this incident.

Further updates will be provided as information becomes available.

June 24, 2020 - 7:10 pm

Trans Mountain has moved into the restoration phase as outlined by Canada Energy Regulator (CER). Stand pipes were installed on site to assess potential ground water contamination. On June 21, spilled material was identified and vacuum trucks began to skim oily water for disposal at an approved facility. On-going ground water monitoring and sampling will continue.

Continuous air monitoring has shown no impact to community air quality.

An Environmental Emergency Response Officer (EERO) from the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) continues to monitor the incident on-site. B.C. MOE is participating in daily environmental updates hosted by Trans Mountain.

Further updates will be provided as information becomes available.

June 19, 2020 - 6:50 pm 

All visible spilled material has been removed and operations continues to remove non-hazardous contaminated soils from the site. Unified Command established by Trans Mountain Pipeline and Canada Energy Regulator (CER) to manage the emergency phase of this incident has been stood down.

Daily environmental monitoring of air quality and ground and surface waters by Trans Mountain will continue and will include local First Nations, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Canada Energy Regulator (CER), and B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV).

Statement regarding this incident from CER

Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

June 18, 2020 - 5:30 pm

Clean up phase continues on-site and is nearing completion. The B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) and Trans Mountain are working together to ensure there are no off-site impacts to the environment including ground water, air quality and wildlife.

Further updates can be found on the Trans Mountain website and will be provided here as new information becomes available.

June 16, 2020 - 5:30 pm

Unified command between the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) and Trans Mountain Pipeline has been established at the Incident Command Post (ICP). Environmental Emergency Response Officers (EERO) from the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) remain on site working within the ICP and providing technical specialist support to the Environmental Unit.

As of today an estimated 524,500 kg of mixed contaminated soil, sand and gravel had been removed from site and taken to the appropriate disposal facilities.

Monitoring of air quality and ground water are on-going at site.

Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

June 14, 2020 - 9:45 pm 

Trans Mountain has established an Incident Command Post (ICP) in Abbotsford to help coordinate planning, response and recovery operations. Environmental and emergency contractors are onsite undertaking site assessments and clean up operations. Groundwater and air monitoring assessments are ongoing. At this time, there have been no reported impacts to groundwater. 

An Environmental Emergency Response Officer (EERO) continues to work with agencies in coordination and response activities. 

More information on this incident can be found at: https://www.transmountain.com/news/2020/statement-from-trans-mountain

Further updates will be provided as new information becomes available. 

June 13, 2020 - 12:40 pm 

At approximately 11:20 pm on June 12, 2020, a spill of crude oil was released at the Trans Mountain Sumas station, approximately 8 km east of Abbotsford. The Trans Mountain main line was shut down and isolated to prevent any further release. Currently, the spilled material has not migrated offsite due to the incident site having perimeter berms. 

Environmental contractors are onsite conducting area perimeter air monitoring. Trans Mountain's Oil Spill Containment and Recovery (OSCAR) trailers are on scene and vac trucks and emergency response contractors are en route to the site. 

Trans Mountain is establishing a situation room in order to manage the incident. 

Notifications have gone out to the Sumas First Nations and local health authorities. Additional notifications are underway. 

An Environmental Emergency Response Officer (EERO) from the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) is being dispatched to site to monitor the incident. 

Further updates will be provided as new information becomes available.