Pipeline spill could take years to clean up: expert

It could take several years to clean up an oil spill if it contaminated a body of groundwater, an expert said during environmental hearings into the proposed Energy East pipeline project held in Lévis on Friday.

Chantal Savaria, an engineer and geologist, was going over possible scenarios before the Bureau des audiences publiques sur l’environment ( BAPE), the provincial environmental review agency.

“We’re talking between two to five years and maybe 10 years, de- pending on the type of contaminant, the depth of the groundwater and the type of geology affected,” Savaria said. “Decontaminating underground water is more com- plex than having to remove soil from a surface.”

The project also received a rare show of support in the form of Dominic Girard, assistant- director of local 791 of FTQ - Construction, a union whose members would potentially benefit from the project. Girard said he personally worked on pipeline projects.

“The new techniques, the new inspections, robotic welding, the new coatings can be put on the tubing are much better than they were 40 to 50 years ago,” Girard said.