Court action considered if Rainbow pipeline starts operating before clean-up complete

Woodland Cree Chief William Whitehead is contemplating court action if Plains Midstream Canada starts operating Rainbow pipeline now that the company has received the go-ahead from the Energy Resources Conservation Board.

“We’ve talked to our lawyers already. Our lawyers are going to send (Plains) a letter saying, No, you can’t do that. You can’t turn on the line before the clean up is done,” said Whitehead. “If they don’t cooperate with us, if they try to do things on their own, they might have to end up in court.”

On Aug. 26, the ERCB gave Plains approval to begin operating Rainbow pipeline, which ruptured and spilled a record-setting 28,000 barrels of light, sweet crude oil in traditional Lubicon Lake territory four months earlier.
“Plains intends to resume service on the northern segment of the pipeline on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011.
Crude oil flows on the pipeline, which transports crude oil from Zama to Nipisi, AB, will be restored gradually over a seven-day period following initial restart,” stated a news release issued by the company.

Clean-up of the spill and restarting the repaired line are two separate issues as far as both the ERCB and Alberta Environment are concerned. Plains holds the same view point.

“From our perspective, these are two events. While we’ve fully committed to the complete clean-up and will do that as quickly as possible, we’ve repaired the line and taken steps now with the board to have it reinstated and ready for service,” said Stephen Bart, vice president of operations with Plains Midstream Canada.

Whitehead said that right after the April 29 spill, Plains committed to complete the clean-up before the Rainbow pipeline began operating.

 “I’m not sure where those comments originate from, but certainly not from our understanding. I don’t believe we ever expressed that commitment,” said Bart. He said he was on-site right after the spill and spoke to First Nations leaders and regulatory bodies.

Whitehead also claims that Plains has been tightlipped about their plans.

“They haven’t consulted the community, said this is going to happen,” said Whitehead.

But Bart claims he met with Whitehead along with Lubicon Lake Cree Chiefs Bernard Ominayak and Steve Noskey the week Plains’ application to restart Rainbow pipeline went in to the ERCB and explained the process.
“We’ve met regularly with all the First Nations leaders. Communication has been ongoing, consistent and timely,” said Bart.

Whitehead was also critical of the clean-up work being carried on at the site.

“I don’t like what I see. It’s a mess,” said Whitehead, who was recently at the site. “A lot of people don’ t like what’s being done. They want to see something that’s complete and done right.”

“From our perspective,” said Jessica Potter, spokesperson for Alberta Environment, “we are satisfied with the progress.”

Alberta Environment is monitoring the status of the clean-up, meeting regularly with Plains on-site, as well as auditing data from air, soil, water, and ground water monitoring established by Plains.

Bart said the oil spilled on the land has been removed and one-quarter to one-third of the contaminated dirt has also been removed. The goal he said is to have all the oil-contaminated dirt removed by Christmas. In the spring, final grading and contouring will take place with the rescued trees returned and organic material spread.