Using data from Enbridge’s own reports, the Polaris Institute calculated that 804 spills occurred on Enbridge pipelines between 1999 and 2010. These spills released approximately 161,475 barrels (25,672.5 m3) of crude oil into the environment … Will YOUR Community Be Next?
2017 (January 14, 2017) Lawrence County Missouri 365 barrels (15330 gallons)
2016 ( May 7, 2016-spill 1980, more clean up 2011, monitoring 2012 ) 30 years later, contamination remained at site of pipeline spill in Hiawatha National Forest
2013 (July 1st) – Michigan Department of Environmental Quality issues a citation against Enbridge for contamination of North Ore Creek by an Enbridge pipeline maintenance activity.
2013 (June 23rd) – Cheecham, Alberta – Line 37 – Approx. 750 barrels (investigation ongoing). Line 37, constructed in 2006, a 17-kilometre-long, 12-inch diameter pipe links the Long Lake oil sands upgrader to the Cheecham terminal and is part of Enbridge’s Athabasca system. Unusually heavy rainfall in the region, that caused the 2013 Alberta floods, may have caused “ground movement on the right-of way that may have impacted the pipeline.” Enbridge’s Athabasca (Line 19) shares a portion of right of way with Line 37 and Enbridge’s Wood Buffalo/Waupisoo (Line 75/18) which also shares a portion of right of way with Line 37, a major part of the network that serves Alberta’s oil sands, were closed down as a precautionary measure. Operations between Hardisty and Cheecham were restored on June 23 when Enbridge’s Athabasca pipeline (Line 19) was restarted
2012 (November 20th) – Mokena, Illinois – 905 barrels.
2012 – Grand Marsh, Wisconsin – 1,200 barrels – pipeline installed in 1998. Cause: Flaws in the longitudinal welds had been seen during X-ray checks of girth welds.
2012 (Feb 15th) – Arenac County, Michigan – oil discovered in soil around an Enbridge oil pipeline.
2010 (September 9th) – Romeoville, Illinois – Line 6A – 7,500 barrels.
2010 (July 26th) – Marshall, Michigan – Line 6B – 27,132 barrels. Cause: Known but unrepaired cracks and external corrosion. CLICK HERE for Full NTSB Accident Report Information Docket
2010 (April 17th) – Deer River, Minnesota – Line 2. Cause: Crack-like feature associated with the longitudinal weld seam on inside of the pipe.
2010 (April) – Virden, Manitoba – Pipeline ruptured spilling more than 9.5 barrels (1.51 m3) of oil, and leaked into the Boghill Creek which eventually connects to the Assiniboine River.
2010 (January 2nd) – Neche, North Dakota – Line 3 – 3784 barrels released – only 2,237 recovered. Cause: Material defect.
2009 (May 21st) – Superior, Wisconsin – 155 barrels – An Enbridge pipeline pig sending trap leaked due to operator error, spilling about 6500 gallons of crude oil. 700 cubic yards of contaminated soil had to be removed.
2009 (January) – Enbridge pipeline leaked about 4,000 barrels (640 m3) of oil southeast of Fort McMurray at the company’s Cheecham Terminal tank farm. Most of the spilled oil was contained within berms but about 40 barrels (6.4 m3), sprayed into the air and coated nearby snow and trees.
In 2009, Enbridge Energy Partners, a U.S. affiliate of Enbridge Inc., agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle a lawsuit brought against the company by the state of Wisconsin for 545 environmental violations. In a news release from Wisconsin’s Department of Justice, Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen said “…the incidents of violation were numerous and widespread, and resulted in impacts to the streams and wetlands throughout the various watersheds”. The violations were incurred while building portions of the company’s Southern Access pipeline, a project to transport crude from the oil sands region in Alberta to Chicago.
2007 (November 27th) – Clearbrook, Minnesota – killed two employees. Enbridge was cited for failing to safely and adequately perform maintenance and repair activities, clear the designated work area from possible sources of ignition, and hire properly trained and qualified workers.
2007 (November 13th) – Clearbrook Minnesota – Line 3. Enbridge discovered a leak on their 34-inch Line 3 at Mile Post 912. Later, the pipeline exploded during repairs, on November 27, causing the deaths of two employees. DOT officials said that two Enbridge workers died in a crude oil explosion as they worked to make repairs on the former Lakehead system pipeline. Enbridge was cited for failing to safely and adequately perform maintenance and repair activities, clear the designated work area from possible sources of ignition, and hire properly trained and qualified workers.
2007 (April) – Glenavon, Saskatchewan – Roughly 6,227 barrels (990.0 m3) of crude oil spilled into a field downstream of an Enbridge pumping station.
2007 (February 2nd) – Rusk County, Wisconsin – 4,800 barrels – only 2,066 recovered. A construction crew struck an Enbridge pipeline with equipment. Some of the oil filled a hole more than 20 feet (6.1 m) deep and was reported to have contaminated the local water table.
2007 (January 1st) – Superior, Wisconsin – 1,500 barrels / 50,000 US Gallons spilled onto farmland and into a drainage ditch. Cause: Incomplete fusion of a longitudinal weld at the pipe maker that failed as pressure cycle was established as the cause. The same pipeline was struck by construction crews on February 2, 2007, in Rusk County, Wisconsin, spilling 201,000 US gallons (760 m3) of crude, of which about 87,000 gallons were recovered. Some of the oil filled a hole more than 20 feet (6.1 m) deep and contaminated the local water table.
In 2007 there were 65 reportable spills totaling 13,777 barrels (2,190.4 m3).
2006 (March 18th) – Enbridge’s Willmar Terminal in Saskatchewan – Approximately 613 barrels (97.5 m3) of crude oil were released when a pump failed. According to Enbridge, roughly half the oil was recovered.
In 2006 there were 67 reportable spills totaling 5,663 barrels (900.3 m3) on Enbridge’s energy and transportation and distribution system.
2005 (January 18th) – Bay City, Michigan – 100 barrels – An Enbridge pipeline failed from temperature problems. The pipe was just 2 years old at the time.
2003 (January 24th) – Douglas County, Wisconsin – 2,380 barrels – An Enbridge crude oil pipeline ruptured at a terminal in Douglas County. Some of the crude oil flowed into the Nemadji River. Over 100,000 US gallons (380,000 L) were spilled.
2003 (October 13th) – Bay City, Michigan – 500 barrels
2002 (July 4th) – Cohasset, Minnesota – 6,000 barrels / 950 m3. Cause: Cracking caused by train shipping induced cracking of the pipe being delivered. The pipeline ruptured in a marsh in Itasca County. In an attempt to keep the oil from contaminating the Mississippi River, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources set a controlled burn that lasted for 1 day and created a smoke plume about one mile (1.6 km) high and five miles (8 km) long.
1999 (November 1) – A Lakehead Pipeline (now Enbridge) was damaged by outside force near Crystal Falls, Michigan. 400 people were evacuated from the area. Fire was used to burn some of the released substances, so, of about 223,000 gallons of NGL’s and crude oil spilled, only about 115,000 gallons were recovered, with over 2,100 yards of contaminated soil removed in just the first 2 weeks of cleaning. The pipe broke where it was on a rock in the pipeline trench.
1999 (August 10th) – Line 9 Leak – Dent – Mile Post 2127.5
1998 (September 22nd) – Plummer, Minnesota – 8,810 barrels (1,401 m3) crude oil spill from a Lakehead (now Enbridge) pipeline was caused by an excavator hitting that pipeline
1997 (February 25th) – Line 9 Leak – Dent – Mile Post 2149.31
1996 (November 28th) – Line 9 Leak – Dent – Mile Post 2157.21
1993 (August 5th) – Line 9 Leak – Corroded Densitometer – Mile Post 2258.01
1993 (July 14th) – Line 9 Leak – Corrosion – Mile Post 1891.505
1991 (January 26th) – Line 9 Leak – Crack – Mile Post 1886.99
1991 (March 2nd) – Grand Rapids, Minnesota – A Lakehead (now Enbridge) crude oil pipeline ruptured, spilling more than 40,500 barrels of crude oil into the Prairie River, of which 39,800 barrels were eventually recovered. About 4 million US gallons (15,000 m3) of oil had spilled from that pipeline from the early 1970s to 1991, per Minnesota records. A resident in the area noticed the smell of oil and alerted the local fire department. Approximately 300 people living in homes near the site were evacuated for safety, but were allowed to return to their homes later in the night.
1989 (July 13) – Pembina County, North Dakota – Enbridge pipeline fails, resulting in 31,300 barrels of crude oil being spilled, and about $2.4 million in damages & cleanup.
1988 (March 30th) – Line 9 Leak – Dent – Mile Post 2223.34
1979 (August 20th) – A 34-inch Lakehead (now Enbridge) pipeline ruptured near Bemidji, Minnesota, leaking 10,700 barrels (1,700 m3) of crude oil. The pipeline company initially recovers 60 percent of the spilled oil. Later in 1988, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency required Lakehead to extract more oil using new technology; removal continued on, with studies still underway in the area.
1979 (April 13th) – Line 9 Leak – Dent – Mile Post 2153.9
1979 (January 6th) – Line 9 Leak – Dent – Mile Post 1867.03
1978 (June 14th) – Line 9 Leak – Former Third Party Damage – Mile Post 2157.62
1978 (June 14th) – Line 9 Rupture – Mechanical Damage – Mile Post 2259.53
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enbridge#Spills_and_violations