2011 Little Buffalo oil spill

The Little Buffalo oil spill on April 29, 2011, resulted in the discharge of 28,000 barrels of oil in an isolated stretch of boreal forest in northern Alberta, about ten kilometres from Little Buffalo, Alberta. The spill was caused by rain then damaging the pipes in the Rainbow Pipeline system, owned by Plains Midstream Canada, a unit of Plains All American Pipeline. It was the largest oil spill in Alberta in 36 years.[1][2] The local school was closed following the oil spill due to concerns about the effects of fumes.[3]

The 44-year-old Rainbow Pipeline carries an average of 187,000 barrels a day from Zama, Alberta to Edmonton. Little Buffalo, a Lubicon Cree community of about 350 people, is approximately ten kilometres from the spill site. Local news reports stated that many of the 125 children attending the local school began complaining of headaches, dizziness and nausea around 9:30 a.m. on April 29. The school was closed for the day on the day of the spill (Friday), but was evacuated again the following Monday due to the odour and effects on the children.[4]

In 2013, Alberta's Energy Resource Conservation Board (ERCB) issued a reprimand to Plains Mainstream for operational failures in connection with the oil spill.[5]

  1. ^ Welsch, E. (May 5, 2011). "Size of Oil Spill in Canada Grows." Wall Street Journal.
  2. ^ Vanderklippe, N. (May 4, 2011). "Costs for oil companies pile up after spill." The Globe and Mail.
  3. ^ The Globe and Mail (May 4, 2011). Location of oil spill near Little Buffalo, Alta.
  4. ^ Steele, E. (May 6, 2011). Large crude oil spill near Little Buffalo Archived 2014-10-30 at the Wayback Machine. Peace River Record Gazette.
  5. ^ CBC News (February 26, 2013). Plains Midstream reprimanded for 2011 Alberta oil spill. Retrieved on: 2013-02-27.