Chemical spill stinks up Pincher Creek
Laurie Tritschler
Shootin’ the Breeze Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A small chemical spill cast a noxious stink over the east side of Pincher Creek on Sunday morning, according to Pincher Creek Emergency Services.
A spokesperson for the Alberta Energy Regulator said about 100 litres of petroleum distillate, a strong-smelling precursor to gasoline, was spilled in three spots between a bulk fuel station on the 1000 block of Main Street and Highway 6, starting at around 9:30 a.m.
No one was hurt and the spill did not reach any waterways, PCES Chief Pat Neumann told Shootin’ the Breeze.
The distillate leaked from a fuel truck coming from the former Shell Waterton gas plant near Twin Butte, according to a statement Monday from Plains Midstream Canada, a Calgary-based firm that provides logistical support to oil and gas companies.
The company said it’s investigating the cause and exact volume of the spill.
“Our priorities are to protect the safety of everyone in the area and minimize any impacts to the environment. We have completed initial surface clean up, offloaded the product from the trailer, and safely removed the truck and trailer from the area,” the statement continued.
Neumann said the truck driver “did everything proactively as soon as he realized what was going on,” driving to nearby Pincher Station, where he set about containing the leak.
PCES contacted Transport Canada’s emergency centre, CANUTEC, and then joined cleanup efforts led by the fuel transport company.
“The cleanup is already substantively wrapped up” at each of the three spill sites, Neumann said.
Plains Midstream thanked PCES for their prompt response, telling the Breeze, “We are continuing to work with PCES to monitor air quality and conduct further remediation, as required.”
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