A spill of around 3,000 litres of water and leachate has occurred at the Woodfibre LNG site, according to a news release by the company.
The spill happened yesterday during routine maintenance on the site’s industrial landfill, which contains historical wood waste from former pulp mill operations, Woodfibre LNG said, adding a pipe connected to the landfill was being flushed with water when it broke, spilling 3,000 litres of wash water and leachate.
Leachate occurs when water gets into decay at a landfill and creates contaminated water, which is condisered industrial waste.
The spill was primarily contained in a containment sump and quickly cleaned up using a commercial vacuum trick that was onsite as part of the scheduled maintenance work, according to Woodfibre LNG.
The spill was reported to the BC Ministry of Environment and Emergency Management BC for further investigation.
“Fortunately, the majority of what was spilled was water,” said Jennifer Siddon, spokeswoman for Woodfibre LNG, in the news release. “But the spill does underscore the challenges of managing a 100-year-old industrial site.
“We take responsibility very seriously, including our obligation to be transparent if and when incidents happen on our site.”
She told The Squamish Chief that the spill happened on ground, and didn't reach any main creeks or the water of Howe Sound.
A sample of the spilled wash water and leachate has been collected for further analysis.
Woodfibre LNG is proposing to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing and export facility seven kilometres southwest of downtown Squamish, at the former Woodfibre Pulp Mill.
