CALGARY, June 13, 2013 /CNW/ - The National Energy Board (NEB or Board) is responding to a crude oil release on the TransMountain Pipeline southwest of Merritt, BC owned and operated by Kinder Morgan Canada. 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 late yesterday afternoon. The release is located on crown land along the pipeline right-of-way (a map of the area is included below for reference). The pipeline has been shut down to prevent additional oil from being released into the environment and the company is currently in the process of contacting area residents.
The NEB's Emergency Response Team has been deployed and will be onsite to monitor and assess the companies' immediate response, investigation and clean up. Representatives from the affected company are also onsite along with local first responders.
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/National Energy Board)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130613_C7892_PHOTO_EN_28017.jpg
SOURCE: National Energy Board
Rebecca Taylor
Communications Advisor
Telephone: 403-299-3371
E-mail: [email protected]
TTY (teletype): 1-800-632-1663
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