Imperial Oil was fined $900,000 and ordered to pay a $225,000 victim surcharge after being convicted under the Environmental Protection Act of discharging “slop oil” in April 2021.
Imperial Oil was fined $900,000 and ordered to pay a $225,000 victim surcharge after being convicted under the Environmental Protection Act of discharging “slop oil” in April 2021.
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The company pleaded guilty Sept. 16 in Sarnia court to one violation under the act, the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks said Wednesday in a short bulletin on its website.
“We regret this incident, and we accept the fine imposed by the court,” Imperial Oil said in a statement.
Imperial has a refinery in Sarnia with steam tracer lines to keep its pipelines warm and leaks in the tracer lines are relatively common, the ministry said.
The company discovered a leak in January 2021 in a tracer line along an elevated pipeline containing slop oil, a waste product typically composed of crude oil, water and waste solids that contains various contaminants which may include hydrogen sulphide, the ministry said.
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Imperial avoids conducting steam tracer line repairs in winter because of the risk of pipelines freezing and splitting and may schedule repairs for warmer weather.
Steam tracer line leaks are categorized in three levels to determine priority for repairs, based on factors including urgency, repair time, resources and forecasted temperatures, the ministry said.
The January 2021 leak was designated a second level priority and repairs were planned for March 2021 but in April of that year it was discovered steam escaping from the tracer leak had bored a hole in the nearby pipeline resulting in a spill, according to the ministry.
The company said workers at the Sarnia site responded on April 15 to an incident involving a leak from a pipeline to a tank containment area and approximately 1,150 liters of slop oil was discharged. The spill was contained on site, the company said.
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The ministry said air monitoring did not detect hydrogen sulphide, volatile organic compounds or gas vapor. Imperial said testing also did not detect benzene.
“The discharge of slop oil caused adverse effects to persons at two nearby businesses and residents of Aamjiwnaang First Nation, including the loss of enjoyment and use of property and interference with the normal conduct of business,” the ministry said.
Strong odors, eye, nose and throat irritation, as well as headaches and nausea, were reported, it said.
“Imperial has cooperated with the MECP through the investigation” and “has since made changes to its equipment maintenance plan by modifying the criteria used to prioritize repairs to mitigate the risk of a reoccurrence of the same incident,” the company said.
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