The Board also said that the Rainbow pipeline’s leak-detection equipment worked properly and operators shut the line down quickly. Public safety was not at risk, it said. Cleanup and remediation of the site are still going on.
The Rainbow pipeline was built in 1966 and is jointly owned by Canada’s Imperial Oil, ExxonMobil, and Shell. The operators have undertaken several measures to reduce the risk of another rupture, including pumping at 80% of the previous operating pressure, which has reduced throughput to 85% to 90% of capacity.