Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources if he has received an update from Enbridge Pipelines about the reported contaminated soil on the remediation digs outside of Fort Simpson.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we have an update. There was some contaminated soil found a week or so ago, about 30 cubic metres. There was no visible spill. The pipeline was shut down as a precaution as they did the check. Then on the 8th, sorry, the 10th I believe it is, they put a sleeve around the area where they thought there was potential weakness and the pipeline was re-opened.
The media report that I had looked at wasn’t really clear whether it was contaminated by crude oil or something else. Was Enbridge able to tell the Minister in their briefing exactly what the source of that contamination was?
The National Energy Board will have the lead on this. They collected all the soil and they’ve sent it away for analysis. They’ve put the precautionary sleeve around the pipeline, and when we get that information back or when I’m made aware of the results of those tests, I will make sure that we share that with the Member.
Members of the public, the community and the people that use the land are concerned if there’s a public safety or hazardous risk. Can the Minister tell us if that’s the case?
All of the appropriate precautionary measures, processes and procedures have been activated. There was a spill report done. Enbridge kicked into gear their response. The National Energy Board was informed. We’ve been tracking the issue. They’ve collected the contaminated soil for testing, and they’ve put a precautionary sleeve around the affected area or what they believe could be the affected area of the pipeline. We’re waiting for the test results. The matter, as far as I’m aware, seems to be in hand at this juncture.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad that ENR is now working with Enbridge Pipelines. How soon does that information get to the Department of ENR should there be another incident, as it were?
The protocols are such that once we’re aware of it, there’s a response kicked into gear by Enbridge and the National Energy Board as the responsible agencies involved. As next in line, ENR is involved, and we activate all our processes to make sure we’re working closely with the National Energy Board and Enbridge. That process is in place. Then there’s a communication strategy that kicks into gear, as well, to make sure that folks are aware of what’s happening and what the circumstances are.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
