ERCB investigates crude oil pipeline leak

An inspector with Alberta's Energy Resources Conservation board is travelling to the site of a crude oil leak 100 kilometers northeast of Peace River.  

A leak from a pipeline owned by Plains Midstream Canada was detected Friday morning. It has since been stopped.

The size of the spill hasn't been determined but could amount to the equivalent of hundreds of barrels of crude oil, ERCB spokesman Davis Sheremata said.

He's optimistic the oil hasn't made its way into any water. The leak is 300 metres away from any run-off or flowing water.

"We can see the amount on the ground so we're optimistic that it hasn't reached any run-off or surface water," he said.

"But we're going to be watching it really carefully, let me put it that way, and we're going to get the cleanup done as quickly as possible to make sure that there's as little disturbance to the land as possible."

Sheremata says there have been no injuries and the spill isn't near any homes. The nearest home is more than seven kilometers away.