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3:00
In an emailed statement, Trans Mountain says the company has had to shut down its pipeline as a precaution in response to Sunday morning's spill.
"Inspections are underway and the Trans Mountain pipeline is expected to be restarted this afternoon," reads the statement.
The company says crews are on site and air monitoring is ongoing, with no concerns outside the pump station at this time.
"An investigation confirmed a release of product from some station piping and has been contained entirely within Trans Mountain's facility. The product is a medium crude blend an no specific estimate of volume is available at this time."
Trans Mountain says regulatory notifications have been completed and neighbours and other stakeholders in the vicinity have or are being notified.
"Cleanup of the pump station is underway and neighbours and those passing by may notice an increase in vehicle activity."
2:30
The Ministry of Environment has confirmed there's been a spill at Kinder Morgan's Darfield facility.
Spokesperson David Karn tells KamloopsMatters the company reported the 100-litre spill at 5 a.m. on Sunday.
"It appears that one of their flow metres had a leak and the oil went to ground. That means it just went onto the ground. No waterways were affected and it was all contained within the station property," he says. "They responded with vacuum trucks on site."
Calls to Kinder Morgan have not been returned.
The Darfield station is along the existing Trans Mountain pipeline route.
Sharon Halliwell, a neighbour to the pump station, says a man from Kinder Morgan came over to her property this morning around 10:30 a.m. to tell her "there had been a release."
"He said he wasn't aware of the extent of the spill," she says. "But I would be seeing some activity over there."
It took a little while before the smell made its way to her home, but Halliwell says it's very strong now.
"About 20 minutes later I could really smell it," she says. "It stinks, it's giving me a headache."
In the past, she says they've let her know about maintenance that's gone on at the station, but this time was different. She says the employee told her there had been a release, and when pressed more for information, he confirmed to her it was a spill.
"I've lived here 15 years," she says. "They've done a lot of letting the air out of the lines. This is the first time someone has that I'm aware there's been a spill."
She says she was told it would take 10 days for the cleanup to take place.
