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Regulatordeniesoildrillingstart-upatsiteofleaksEnvironmentOilLeaksEnvironmentPipelineLeaks9TuesdayMarch182014PhillipConstantSouthSlaveyPhillipConstantspeaksSouthSlaveyontheFortProvidenceradiostationeveryday.HegoesouttovisitwithEldersinterviewsthemandtranscribestheirstoriesfromtheSouthSlaveylanguagetoEnglish.NORTHERNVOICESIntheNorthwestTerritoriesournorthernvoicesareimportant.ThroughoutourvastterritorynineofcialAboriginallanguagesarespokenwithpride.Tocelebratethisdiversityregionallanguagecommunitiesnominatedindividualscommittedtocultivatingournorthernvoices.ThesechampionsareleadersinourAboriginallanguagescommunityandwethankthemfortheireffortsandcontributionstothesurvivalofourlanguages.ByMARIACHURCHTheAlbertaEnergyRegu-latorAERhasrejectedare-questfromCanadianNaturalResourcesLtd.CNRLtoresumeitsoilproductionop-erationnearColdLakewherebitumenhasbeenleakingcon-tinuouslyfornearlyayear.CNRLappliedtotheAERinDecembertostartlow-pressureinsituoperationsonitsPrim-rosesitelocatednearColdLakeinnorthwesternAlbertadespiteleaksthathavebeenoozingintheareasinceMayoflastyearwithnoendinsight.TheAERdeterminedthatitwasprematuretoapprovethisapplicationinlightoftheongoinginvestigationintotheleaksatPrimroseAERspokespersonBobCurrantoldTheJournalinanemail.CNRLchosetowithdrawitsapplicationafterhearingfromtheAERthatitsapplicationwouldbedeniedCurransaid.TheCalgary-basedoilcom-panyledanotherapplicationinFebruarytobeginhigh-pres-suresteam-assistedoperationsatitsPrimroseSouthsitewhichliesoutsideoftheAERdeter-minedrestrictedzonebutinByJACKDANYLCHUKLikeacarnivalgameofWhackaMolespreadovernearly900kmofNorthernwildernessndingandstop-pingleaksintheNormanWellstoZamapipelinehaschallengedEnbridgeforthepastthreewinters.SinceahunterdiscoveredaleakinMay2011thatspilledanestimated1600barrelsofoilnearWrigleyatkilometre380.4EnbridgecrewshaveexcavatedthecompanysLine21at85differentpoints.GrahamWhitemanagerofbusinesscommunicationsforEnbridgesaidthecompanyiscondentithasutilizedthebesttechnologyavailabletodetectandcharacterizeanypipelineanomaliesandissatisedthatnoadditionaldigsarerequiredatthistime.Searchersfoundfourplaceswheresoilwascontaminatedwithpetroleumandoneac-tivepinholeleakwhichwilldelayareportonthelinesproblemsbytheNationalEnergyBoardNEBuntillaterthisyearorsometimein2015.Nextyearwillmarkthe30thanniversaryoftheEnbridgecompletesleakdetectiondigsonNormanWellspipelinePhotocourtesyofColdLakeFirstNationssomecasescomesascloseas500metresfromthessures.Thatapplicationiscurrentlyunderreviewbytheregulator.Environmentalgroupsarecallingontheregulatortodenythesecondapplicationuntilmoreisknownaboutthecauseoftheseepageandwhatthesolutionsmightbe.Tomeacompanythatisresponsibleforfourongoingspills-andtheyarestillon-goingandnocauseshaveyetbeenidentied-theverypru-dentapproachistonotallowmoresteamintothisalreadyheavilyinundatedanddisas-trousregionGreenpeacecam-paignerMikeHudemasaid.TheAERhasnotreleasedatimelineforitsinvestigationintotheongoingPrimrosebitumenleakswhichwerediscoveredlastsummerandhavesincereleasedmillionsoflitresofbitumentothesurface.TheregulatororderedCNRLtocontaintheleakandcleanupthearealastfallwhichincludeddrainingalakeandplacingabermaroundthessuresites.Accordingtoanemailfromthecompanylastweekseepagefromthefissureshasslowedtoanalmostimperceptiblerateamount-ingtolessthanacubicmetrefromallsitesamonthandwaterwillbereturnedtothelakethatwasdrainedbyspring.CNRLclaimedlastfallthatthePrimroseleakswerethere-sultofwellborefailuresbuthassinceannounceditwillbecon-ductingmoreextensiveinves-tigationsbeforeresubmittingitsapplicationtodrillwithintherestrictedzone.TheobjectivesoftheplanaretolocateanddelineatetheowpathfromitssourcesintheClearwaterrocklayerandidentifytherootcauseCNRLspokespersonZoeAddingtonsaidinanemailtoTheJournal.Independentscientistsandcriticshavesuggestedthattheleaksaretheresultofweakenedcaprockinteg-rityintheregionduetotheoveruseofhighpressurizedsteamunderground.AERputafreezeonnewsteam-assistedgravitydrain-ageSAGDoilsandsdevel-opmentnearFortMcMurrayinJanuaryuntilitcompletesathoroughtechnicalreviewofthefactorsaffectingreservoircontainment.Thatinvestiga-tiondoesnothoweverapplytoCNRLsoperations.InformationgapunacceptableHudemasaidthelackofpublicandgovernmentknowl-edgeaboutinsitutechnologyisunacceptableaddingthatCNRLsleaksarejustoneexampleofthedangersofac-ceptingindustrysassertions.Thefactthatwedontknowwhatiscausingthesespillsthatwedontknowhowtostopthesespillsoncetheyvestartedandthatwejusthavetokeeplettingthemgushfornowoverninemonthsandprobablymuchlongerthanthatshowsjusthowwidethatinformationgapishesaid.Greenpeacealongwithmorethan20othersocialjusticeandenvironmentalgroupsiscallingforthegovernmenttolaunchanindependentsafetyreviewofinsitutechnologytoaskquestionsaboutsafetylimits.Untilwehavethosean-swersweshouldntbeap-provingnewprojectsandweshouldbeslowingdownex-istingoneshesaid.pipelinethathasallbutemptiedImperialsNor-manWellseldandwillbecalledontodeliveroilfromtheCanolshaleplayintheSahtuifitprovestobecommerciallyviable.KirbyJangaspokesmanfortheNEBsaidinanemailthattheboardwillbestart-ingourreportwritingtaskshortly.Thedraftreportwillthenundergoanumberofreviewsbothinternalandexternalandadjustmentsasrequired.Asthisisanongoingin-vestigationwearenotabletoprovidedetailsontheanaly-sisatthistimeJangwroteinresponsetoquestionaboutwhatmighthavecausedthelinetoleak.WhitewouldntrevealthecostofthesearchthoughEnbridgespentmorethan1billiontocleanupaspillin2010nearMarshallMichi-ganthelargestspillinUShistoryandwasned3.7millionbythePipelineandHazardousMaterialsSafetyAdministration.UnitedStatesinvestigatorswerehighlycriticalofthecompanyssafetypracticesandresponsetospillhazardsandWhitesaidthedamn-ingreportspromptedmajorchangesintheoperatingcul-tureatEnbridge.WehavelearnedagreatdealfromourrecentpasteventsWhitewroteinareplytoemailedquestions.Wehavepreparedafairlycomprehensivelistoflessonslearnedandthequantiableactionswearetakingandhavetakentoemergeasabettercompanywithapipelinesystemofveryhighintegrity.AmongtheinnovationsWhitedescribedareoverlap-pingleakdetectionmethodspressurechangesandvolumeinconsistenciesforexamplealongwithourpublicaware-nessprogramtodetectthepresenceofleakswithinthesystem.Enbridgeintroducedin-tegritydigstotheNormanWellspipelineasanon-goingfeatureofourover-allpipelineintegritypro-gramandcommitmenttothesafetyandsecurityofthoselinesespeciallyinidentiedsensitiveenviron-mentsWhitesaid.CNRLwastolditwouldbedeniedanapplicationtorestartinsitudrillingatlowerpres-sureatitsPrimrosesitewherebitumenhasbeenleakingcontinuouslysincelastMay.