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A burst pipeline gushed 2.5 million gallons (9.5 million liters) of toxic waste onto more than 4.5 million square feet (420,000 square meters) of wetlands wilderness, known as muskeg, in northern Alberta, Canada.

Controversy surrounds exactly when the leak started and how much the pipeline’s owner, Texas-based Apache Canada Ltd., knew about the spill. On their website, Apache Corp., a Texas-based company, claims that the spill has been contained and that there is no danger to the public.

Members of the local First Nation, the Dene Tha’, don’t agree with Apache. The Dene Tha’ expressed concern that the leak may have been going on for a long time before either official report, according to the Wall Street Journal, because of the extent of the dead and dying plants affected by the spill. A Dene Tha’ technician who surveyed the area on June 6 found that the spill had saturated the wetland. He also located spill material in a culvert outside of the containment area.

“Every plant and tree died” in the area touched by the spill, said James Ahnassay, chief of the Dene Tha’, in the Globe and Mail. More at http://news.discovery.com/earth/controversy-over-canadian-contaminatio
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The cause of the leak isn't known at the moment, but it's at least the third spill in the region in recent years. About a month ago, there was a leak from a Pace Oil and Gas injection well site near Rainbow Lake, in northeastern Alberta, that released an estimated 3.5 million litres of oil and emulsion into the local environment. Back in 2011, nearly 4.5 million litres of oil spilled out of a Plains Midstream Canada pipeline near Peace River, in northwest Alberta.

According to The Globe and Mail, the Energy Resources Conservation Board was asked by the Dene Tha to enforce upgrades to the aging equipment and pipelines that companies in the area use, but with this spill Mr. Ahnassay expressed his doubts about the government's efforts: "We don't believe that the government is doing enough to ensure upgrades and maintenance of the lines."

In a statement quoted by The Globe and Mail, environmental activist Mike Hudema said: "This latest spill should call into question the provincial government’s decision to hide the pipeline safety report they received last year and the failure to follow through on the public pipeline safety review the Minister of Energy promised last July."

This pipeline safety report, commissioned in July 2012 to address public concerns about leaks, was apparently delivered in early May 2013, but the Alberta government has delayed release of the report. No date has been given for its release. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/geekquinox/alberta-toxic-waste-spill-bi
ggest-recent-north-american-165646105.html]

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Over the past 37 years, Canada has seen an average of two spills per day. Not per week, or per month, or per year… per day. More at http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/20/toxic-spill-in-canada-raises-m
ore-questions-about-the-safety-of-keystone-xl/#ixzz2Wrtc9hNB

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