WISE researchers study Red Deer River spill

trevor.kenney — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:14:39 +0000

A recent pipeline rupture in the Red Deer River might have relatively short term environmental damage, but a larger concern is the vast number of older pipeline locations at river crossings and their vulnerability to floods, according to a leading expert in floodplain and river bank ecosystems.

Dr. Stewart Rood, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Environmental Science researcher and member of the Water Institute for Sustainable Environments, has already started on a study of the Red Deer River oil spill, looking at more than 30 km of river shoreline downstream from the spill site.

He and his colleagues are looking for opportunities to learn from this particular spill, and then turn their research findings into a set of guidelines for developing oil pipelines near, over or under waterways.

"River crossings are especially prone to pipeline breaks, since the banks are commonly eroded and stream channels shift, especially during flood events," says Rood. "While this specific pipeline break and oil spill was unfortunate, a study opportunity arises and this should be instructive relative to floodplain processes and environmental vulnerability."

The break, which occurred last week near Sundre, Alberta, northwest of Calgary, resulted in the release of up to an estimated half-million liters of light sour crude oil into the Red Deer River.

The release coincided with flood flows of the river and consequently the floating oil wove through the riparian (or streamside) vegetation, leaving what Rood describes as a 'bathtub ring' of oil deposits on the floodplain plants (photographs attached).

Despite decades of pipeline construction and occasional ruptures, Rood's team found there has been remarkably little scientific study on the environmental impacts of oil spills on river floodplains. Checking back almost 50 years the researchers found only 10 relevant journal papers.

"There have been studies on fish but very little on floodplain ecosystems," says Rood. "Since river floods can damage pipelines, we need to better understand how vulnerable floodplains are, and how quickly or slowly they'll recover.'

He added that pipeline breaks are more common than people think, and occur across the province, often in remote locations.

"In its 2010 field surveillance report, the industry-funded Energy Resources Conservation Board recorded 687 pipeline failures across the province, but most of these would have been very minor" says Rood.

Their new study sites have been positioned ('tagged' through GPS monitoring) at numerous locations within the spill zone to enable the detailed monitoring of the consequence of the oil spill on the trees and vegetation along the banks of the river (called the riparian zone).

As well, there will also be coordinated study of invertebrates in the shoreline zone, as well as investigation of impacts on fish.

The study group involves Rood and two colleagues, Dr. Alice Hontela and Dr. Joseph Rasmussen, all senior U of L researchers who have already been studying the Red Deer River and other rivers of southern Alberta for more than 25 years.

Numerous undergraduate and graduate students will also be involved in the research.

This brings world-class -- and independent -- expertise in river and floodplain ecology and aquatic toxicology to bear on the Red Deer River spill, and sets the stage for future projects.

Rood says he has communicated with pipeline owner Plains Midstream about the study project.

"Their representatives were pleased we were conducting this research independently, and have expressed a willingness to share technical data with us."

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ hosts special SACPA session on fracking

trevor.kenney — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 19:10:24 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will host a special session of the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs Thursday night, 7 p.m. in PE264.

Should a Moratorium and a Full Scale Environmental Assessment Precede Any Further Development Using Hydraulic Fracturing? That is the question that guest speaker Jessica Ernst will debate.

Ernst is an environmental scientist with 30 years of oil patch experience. Her career and personal experience make her uniquely qualified to talk about drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Ernst must haul water from outside sources because her well has been poisoned by unnatural and dangerous concentrations of methane gas and other industrial toxins.

She filed legal action against EnCana (a large oil and gas company), the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) which approves energy projects in Alberta and the Alberta Government for their responsibility. In May, 2011 Ernst was invited to New York to present her case and to make recommendations to governments at the United Nations 19th Commission on Sustainable Development. On October 1, 2011, UNANIMA International, a UN Economic and Social Council NGO, presented Ernst with its annual "Woman of Courage" award in New York, at the Church Center of United Nations.

Much of the general public know little or nothing about hydraulic fracturing (fracking), an increasingly popular, but controversial technique of drilling for oil and natural gas. Fracking involves vertical and sometimes horizontal drilling into coal bed, or shale rock using extreme pressure for the fracture treatments. Anywhere from 200,000 to 1500,000 liters of water and various stimulation and fracturing fluids, and from 75,000 to 320,000 pounds of propellant are consumed during a typical hydraulic fracture of a single well.

Fracturing fluids can contain chemicals toxic to humans and wildlife, chemicals that are known to cause cancer. These include diesel fuel, which contains benzene, which in very small quantities can cause cancer and are capable of contaminating millions of gallons of water. Drilling chemicals can be more toxic than fracturing chemicals. The speaker will relate her experiences with fracking in her community of Rosebud, Alberta and her fight to bring the many issues associated with drilling and fracking to the public.

UNews - Energy Resources Conservation Board

WISE researchers study Red Deer River spill

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��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ hosts special SACPA session on fracking

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