National Energy Board responds to crude oil release in Sarnia, Ontario

CALGARY, June 11, 2013 /CNW/ - The National Energy Board (NEB or Board) is responding to a crude oil release between the Imperial Oil Terminal the Marcus Oil Terminal in Sarnia, Ontario. The size of the spill has yet to be determined by the NEB. There is no immediate safety concern for local residents and precautions are being taken to ensure continued public safety.

The NEB received an incident report at approximately 08:30 MST this morning. Preliminary information indicates the release is located along a right-of-way containing pipelines belonging to Plains Midstream Canada, Imperial Oil and Enbridge Pipelines Inc. (a map of the area is included below for reference). All pipelines have been shut down to prevent additional oil from being released into the environment. An excavation will be required to determine the source of the release.

Absorbent booms have been positioned along the river as a precautionary measure. There is no indication that any oil has entered the St. Clair River.

Environment, pipeline integrity, and socio-economic specialists from the NEB's Emergency Response Team have been deployed and will be onsite to monitor and assess the companies' immediate response, investigation and clean up. Representatives from the affected companies are also onsite along with local first responders and the Ontario Ministry of Environment.

In an emergency, the Board works with federal, provincial and territorial partners to coordinate the regulatory response. The NEB's priority in any emergency is to make sure that people are safe and the environment is protected.

The National Energy Board holds regulated companies fully responsible and accountable for responding in a manner that protects the public, property and the environment. This includes clean-up and site remediation. The Board's long-term goal with any incident is the full restoration and re-vegetation of the site including any potential effects on sub-surface groundwater.  We do not relax our expectations of a company, or our response, regardless of the size of the incident.

This news release is available on the NEB's Internet site at www.neb-one.gc.ca under What's New!

Image with caption: "Map (CNW Group/Government of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130611_C7359_PHOTO_EN_27900.jpg

SOURCE: National Energy Board

Rebecca Taylor
Communications Advisor
Telephone: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
TTY (teletype): 1-800-632-1663