Small oil spill reported at Trans Mountain facility north of Kamloops

The B.C. Ministry of Environment has confirmed a small spill at a Trans Mountain pipeline facility north of Kamloops.

The ministry says Kinder Morgan reported the incident around 5 a.m. at its Darfield station just north of Barriere.

A ministry spokesperson said about 100 litres of “crude oil” was reported to have leaked from a flow meter and gone to ground.

No waterways were affected, and the spilt material was contained to the station property, according to the ministry.

In a statement, Trans Mountain said the pipeline has been shut down as a precaution, and that crews are on site and conducting air monitoring.

“An investigation confirmed a release of product from some station piping and has been contained entirely within Trans Mountain’s facility,” reads the statement.

“The product is a medium crude blend and no specific estimate of volume is available at this time.”

The company says it has notified regulators and is in the process of notifying neighbours and nearby stakeholders.

It says cleanup is underway and that the line was reactivated at 3:20 p.m. after inspections were completed.

The incident comes less than a week before Kinder Morgan’s May 31 Trans Mountain pipeline ultimatum.

The company stopped all “non-essential activities and related spending” on the pipeline expansion, and said it could scrap the project unless it can reach agreements with stakeholders that “may allow the project to proceed.”