LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - The emergency preparedness of Enbridge Pipelines (NW) Inc. was put to the test on July 28 as the Fort Simpson office hosted its annual oil spill exercise.

The exercise scenario saw 23 people, including staff from Enbridge, Rowe's Construction, Nogha Enterprises Ltd. and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, respond as if oil from the pipeline had leaked into Manners Creek.

Myles Lafferty, foreground, and Travis Edda, both with Nogha Enterprises Ltd., stand ready to push a 300 ft boom into the Liard River as part of Enbridge Pipelines annual oil spill exercise. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Participants practised deploying to a site approximately 15 km from Fort Simpson on the Liard River and placing a 300-foot deflector boom in the water.

The event is part of Enbridge's annual exercise program, said Ann Marie Tout, the manager of Enbridge Pipelines (NW) Inc.

Every year the company conducts a minimum of one oil spill exercise at a control point between Norman Wells and Zama, Alta. The control points are strategically located positions where oil can be recaptured in case of a spill, Tout said.

One winter and multiple office-based exercises are also held yearly in both Norman Wells and Fort Simpson.

"It anything happens we want to be as trained as we can be," she said.

"It's far better to learn during an exercise than if there's an incident."

This year's exercise took on a special importance because it was held as the clean-up from an oil spill from a different Enbridge pipeline was underway. On July 26 approximately 3.7 million litres of oil leaked into the Kalamazoo River near Battle Creek, Michigan from a pipeline that leads to Sarnia, Ont.

"You never want to see an incident happen," said Mark Gerlock, Enbridge's area supervisor.

Gerlock noted the pipeline is monitored continuously from Edmonton and if a problem was detected valves could be shut down remotely, stopping the flow of oil. There is one remote controlled valve on the upstream side of the Mackenzie and a manual valve on the downstream side, Gerlock said.

"Our leak detection is the best because it only monitors one line," he said.

The maximum amount that could leak between the two valves at the Mackenzie is 26,082 litres. If a leak did occur staff are on call 24 hours a day.

The exercises have shown that a containment and recovery system for the oil can be in place within four hours of a leak being detected in addition to travel time. An appropriate control point would be chosen for the set-up.

"You want to be ahead of the oil and waiting for it to retrieve it," Gerlock said.

The system would include a deflector boom that would lead the oil towards a shorter containment boom. The oil-covered water would then be funneled through a skimmer that collects the oil, which is pumped into a portable tank.

In the tank, the oil is skimmed off while the water is piped back into the containment boom and run through the cycle again. The recaptured oil would be stored in barrels and then reintroduced into the pipeline.

"We want our oil back," Gerlock said.

Once the first system is in place, a secondary system would be set up farther downstream to catch any residue.

"It's always a precautionary measure," he said.

The initial phase of the response is practised every year during the exercises. Contractors such as Nogha and Rowe's are included because in the case of a real spill, Enbridge would need additional staff for the first response, Gerlock said.

Loren Ducharme, a lead hand with Rowe's, has been participating in the exercise for around seven years.

"It's a great experience to be involved with," he said.

"There's something different every year that wasn't done the year before."

Ducharme said he feels confident about the response that would be mounted in the case of a spill. After all of the years of exercises, he said crews wouldn't have to guess about anything because they know what needs to be done, he said.

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