Emergency Response Plan in Normal Wells by Imperial Oil

On August 24, Imperial Oil will conduct a “full-scale emergency response exercise” in Norman Wells. The simulated scenario: crude oil flowing into the Mackenzie River.

This comes after a real-life incident in late July when 55,000 litres of “produced water” were accidentally dumped into the Mackenzie.

Even though it’s not clear if the incident has anything to do with the upcoming drill, the Canada Energy Regulator requires that these exercises be done every year in order for companies to keep their certifications.

“These little exercises are fairly normal,” said Frank Pope, mayor of Norman Wells. “The last one I attended, they used canola oil in the river and tried to contain it, so that it would be harmless if any of it did actually get away.”

Pope states that in 2020 and 2021, similar exercises at Norman Wells were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Sometimes Imperial and Enbridge hold them together, sometimes they do them separately,” said Pope.

There are no upcoming emergency response exercises announced by Enbridge.

Original source material for this article taken from here