Trans Mountain is committed to transparency involving any and all spills that have occurred along its lines, or on partner vessels carrying Trans Mountain transported product. Spills are reported, and available for public knowledge.
As a regulated company, Kinder Morgan is responsible for reporting spills greater than 1.5 m3 (roughly five times the volume of an average household bathtub) to the National Energy Board (NEB), the regulator of the Trans Mountain system since 1961. In those 51 years, there have been approximately 78 spills (see details) on the Trans Mountain Pipeline system that have been reported to the NEB, some of which are below the reportable threshold.
- 70% of Trans Mountain’s past spills have occurred at pump stations or terminals. All of our pump stations and terminals are equipped with monitoring and spill containment systems to provide early detection and lessen impacts and ensure spilled volumes are contained on site. These facilities are rigorously maintained and inspected to meet NEB standards.
- The remaining 30% of Trans Mountain’s spills have occurred along the pipeline, with 16 incidents related to releases of crude oil from the pipeline. Of these spills, only eight exceeded the reporting threshold of 1.5 m3 — with just two of those eight occurring in the last 30 years. In all of these circumstances, Trans Mountain deployed its emergency response and spill management procedures.
None of Trans Mountain’s past spills occurred in open water, or while entering or exiting the Burrard Inlet.
Find out more about pipeline incident reporting in Canada.
Find out more about regulations regarding spill cleanup in Canada.