Another significant oil spill has been reported in Alberta this week.
A pipeline owned by Plains Midstream Canada burst midstream in the Red Deer River sometime Thursday, pumping between 1,000 and 3,000 barrels of oil into the river. Home to many fish, beasts, and birds, the Red Deer River is also the source of drinking water for the city of Red Deer.
According to the Globe & Mail, workers “have concentrated their efforts on cleaning the spill some 30 kilometres away [from the spill site], at a dam, as they attempt to keep the oil from making it to the city of Red Deer.” All the ducks, pickerel, and beavers in between can deal with it for now. Oil’s harmless, right?
This latest incident follows hard on the heels of a major spill in northern Alberta, where 22,000 barrels were pumped into the muskeg before anyone noticed there was a leak in the pipeline. Compared to 22,000 barrels, 2,000-some-odd barrels is really just a drop in the bucket.
Why Red Deer residents are even worried about this beyond me. After living high on the hog on petro dollars for decades, Albertans should be ready to suck it up now and then. Especially considering they’re expecting British Columbians to do so in perpetuity once Enbridge’s Northern Gateway gets rocking. This is what you signed up for, boys. Don’t fucking forget it.