LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS - The town of Norman Wells declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon when the natural gas lines supplying the town were cut off after an oil spill in Northern Alberta spewed 28,000 barrels of oil – approximately 4.5 million litres of oil – into the surrounding ecosystem.

Dudley Johnson: Norman Wells Mayor says town has four to eight days of natural gas reserves

The almost 800-km line, owned by Plains Midstream Canada and connected to the Enbridge-owned pipeline that runs south from Norman Wells into Alberta, was shut down late last week after the Plains Midstream Canada line breeched.

The Enbridge line, which pumps oil and natural gas from the Imperial Oil fields in the Sahtu community was also shut down, forcing Norman Wells to declare a state of emergency, said Mayor Dudley Johnson. Johnson said the community has four to eight days of natural gas stocks to keep the community of approximately 800 heated. However, Johnson said he isn't aware of a timeline for restarting oil production at Imperial Oil's fields, nor any timeline for when the Plains Midstream line might be repaired. Other media outlets are reporting it may take up to a year to clean up the oil spill – Alberta's worst in three decades.

On Thursday, Premier Ed Stelmach criticized the company, saying the pipeline would not be allowed to reopen until the cleanup effort surpasses provincial standards, according to a southern media source. Based on those comments from the Alberta premier, Johnson said it could be a serious situation if this is the case.

"They didn't want the pipeline opened until it's cleaned up," he said. "A clean up that size, we're talking months."

Johnson said they had a meeting Friday to determine the plans moving forward, adding the town is preparing to bring in air-propane mix equipment along with propane. Johnson said the air-propane mix will work in their gas system – the community uses it when Imperial Oil shuts down production every five years to complete maintenance on its systems.

"We've contacted everyone who has propane in town and we're up to 80,000 litres and that'll keep us going maybe a week or a week and a half," he said, adding if two fuel tanks in the community pass inspection they can be used to store fuel. "Depending on what happens on the inspections on the two storage tanks in town it will give us an extra 10 days. If they don't pass we have max four to eight days."

Alan MacIntosh, director of public safety for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, said the territorial government doesn't see the situation as an imminent problem and there are no immediate plans to deal with the declared emergency at this point.

"(The town) is dealing with Imperial Oil and the different organizations in town to solve the issue," he said. "There are an amount of reserves in the town... they're now looking at how to solve it. There are no imminent threats to public safety at the moment."

In the meantime, Johnson said he is urging people to take measures to conserve gas as much as they can.

"We're keeping people aware of what's going to happen," he said. "We have plans in place for people who don't have any source of heat. Now we just wait and see what the government will do."

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