Article content continued

Assistant fire chief Shelley Morris with Surrey Fire Services said two crews were called around 11 p.m. Saturday after reports of a petroleum smell in the area.

She said fire crews found the substance in a ditch that runs adjacent to the pipeline.

“It’s been found in one ditch but probably on different sides of the road,” Morris said in an interview Sunday.

Morris said one of the possibilities being considered is whether the substance was dumped in the area.

“We did contact Trans Mountain so they can do their own checks…. At this point they’ve taken over the investigation’

“The pipeline has been shut down as a precautionary measure and we are investigating the source of the product. We are doing air monitoring in the area and there is no risk to the public at this time.”

A second update from Trans Mountain at 2:40 p.m. said: “We have been investigating the odour complaint and are continuing to explore in the area, but at this time we have found no evidence that the source of the product is the pipeline.”

British Columbia’s environment ministry also says it’s investigating. In a statement, the ministry says it was notified about the smell at 1:15 a.m. Sunday. It says a vacuum truck is on the scene and cleaning up minor “sheens” as they’re discovered.

Photo by RICHARD LAM / PNG

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion would twin the existing pipeline that runs between Edmonton and Burnaby, tripling the amount of diluted bitumen – which could be up to 600,000 barrels a day – destined for export.