Husky hits snag in efforts to contain Saskatchewan oil spill

Bloomberg

Husky Energy Inc. is running into difficulty containing and cleaning up a 1,570-barrel oil pipeline spill that entered the North Saskatchewan River in Canada this week, after rising water levels compromised its initial plan to capture the release.
The company responded when a sheen on the water indicated a spill, and discovered it was from the failure of a Saskatchewan gathering system pipeline that has since been shut. An attempt to isolate the oil plume in the water with booms was foiled as a 1-meter (3-foot) increase in the river’s water level pushed debris into the barriers, letting the oil move downstream, the provincial government said. “The spill will require an escalation of action on the part of all parties,” Karen Hill, a spokeswoman for Saskatchewan’s Executive Council, said in an e-mailed statement.
The emergency response is expected to continue for several days, she said. “There are many new steps being taken to re-establish a boom perimeter and intensify skimming activities.”
The oil is headed for the city of North Battleford, which gets some of its drinking water from the river, according to the statement. As a precaution, North Battleford has filled water reservoirs as well as the water tower and shut its water intake from the river. The community can rely on groundwater for the next few days until the immediate risk has passed. Earlier on Friday, a government official said Husky had recovered 270 barrels of oil from the land.

Increasing Scrutiny
Rising oil and gas output has strained pipelines from Alberta to California even as regulators increase scrutiny of spills. Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. said this week it will spend $172 million paying fines and boosting safety across its pipeline operations in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department connected to its 2010 oil spill near Marshall, Michigan, that released 20,000 barrels into the Kalamazoo River.