The Aftermath of the Rainbow Pipeline leak
By: Megan Foreman
July 22, 2011 - The 28,000-barrel Rainbow Pipeline leak on April 29, 2011 launched an immediate emergency response to protect public safety and minimize environmental impacts. The 12-week construction, containment and cleanup operation now exceeds 170,000 staff hours. A cleanup of this nature requires the best emergency response personnel and qualified environmental professionals.
Roy Lamoreaux, Director Investor Relations with Plains Midstream Canada stated, "We have a full complement of specialists at the scene. We have secured all necessary people and equipment for our response and cleanup effort."
In the multi-disciplinary environmental sector, knowing the environmental capability of professionals with science, engineering and technological backgrounds can be difficult. How can stakeholders be confident the best professionals are working on the Rainbow Pipeline cleanup?
Plains Midstream Canada secured CCS Corporation (CCS) to manage the disposal of the oil-soaked soil and contaminated water from the spill. The CCS team has extensive experience with oil spills, including work on the Gulf of Mexico spill, and is Canada’s leading employer of certified Environmental Professionals (EPs).
Professionals awarded the EP certification are verified to meet, or exceed the industry-developed National Occupational Standards for environmental employment. EP certification is the only designation of its kind in Canada that provides professionals with formal recognition of unique environmental competencies.
CCS recognizes EP certification as an important way to demonstrate and verify the credibility and competency of its employees who specialize in protecting the environment and handling energy industry wastes.
Experienced multi-disciplinary teams, like CCS’, provide reassurance that the Rainbow Pipeline spill will be handled with a commitment to environment, health and safety.
Once cleanup is complete Plains Midstream Canada plans to build a new pipeline called the Rainbow Pipeline II. The proposed pipeline, which will be approximately 301 kilometres long, will connect the existing Enbridge Terminal, near Edmonton, to the existing Plains Nipisi Terminal in northwest Alberta. More information on the new pipeline can be found here.
