Zama pipeline spill nets $16K fine for Apache Canada

An energy company with a history of pipeline problemshas been fined and warned by Alberta's regulator for a 2013 spillthat sent millions of litres of salty water into the muskeg.

But environmental groups say Apache Canada's $16,500 penaltyisn't even a slap on the wrist.

"It's more like a wave in the general direction of a wrist,"Keith Stewart of Greenpeace said Tuesday.

Sometime during the first week in May 2013, an Apache pipeline inthe Zama region of northern Alberta began to leak process waterheavily contaminated with salt. That leak continued until it hadreleased 15 million toxic litres into the surrounding muskeg.

The company finally reported the leak to the regulator on June 1of that year.

It was the latest in a series of problems for the company. Theregulator reported 12 "high-risk enforcement actions" between 2009and 2013, most of which involved the release of hydrocarbons orother fluids.

Inadequate procedures, training

"The AER investigation revealed that Apache lacked adequateprocedures, training, communication, and supervision thatcontributed to the failure to detect, evaluate, and take immediateaction concerning the pipeline leak and subsequent release ofproduced water," the regulator said in its report.

Apache was fined on June 27.

On Tuesday, the regulator ordered the company to hire anindependent auditor to check how it maintains pipeline safety. Theauditor's recommendations must be in place by the end of the year.

As well, Apache has until October to tell the regulator how it plansto prevent future releases.Apache has already complied, the regulator said.

But Stewart pointed out the penalty amounts to about one-tenth ofa cent per litre.That type of administrative fine isn't enough todeter companies from cutting corners, he said.

"If they don't actually proceed with prosecution, they'resending the message that this is no big deal. What they're saying isthat you can mess up badly and there's no real cost."

Industry assurances dubious

Stewart also said the amount of water in the spill throws doubton industry assurances that modern, high-tech tools allow crews tospot leaks immediately.

"They keep telling us they have this fancy technology which theycan detect spills in 10 minutes, yet this one went onor 27 days."

In a release, the regulator points out it is investigating otherApache incidents and that further enforcement is possible.

Late Tuesday, Apache issued a statement saying it will complywith the enforcement action and is working closely with the AlbertaEnergy Regulator to meet the obligations outlined and to ensure theintegrity of Apache-operated pipelines.

"Apache takes its environmental and regulatory responsibilityvery seriously," said the release from media relations advisor PaulWyke. "Pipeline integrity on our gathering systems is a criticalcomponent of meeting that responsibility."

He said prior to the enforcement action, the company had set up agroup to look for ways to improve its pipeline operations.