Glen Fruin Oil Leak: Cleanup underway

Cleanup work has finally begun at the site of the Glen Fruin oil pipeline leak – more than nine months after it was first discovered.

The Scottish Parliament has been told that “physical remediation work” is currently underway at the site, close to Scotland’s first national park.

And yesterday contractors Adler and Allan used trucks to remove contaminated soil, again closing a section of the public road through the valley.

There is no indication of how long the cleanup will take or whether legal action will be taken against Petroineos, the company that owns the pipeline.

On January 2, a crude oil leak was discovered from the underground pipeline connecting the Finnart Ocean Terminal on Loch Long to the Grangemouth refinery.

Roads in the area were closed – in one case for several months – while residents and tourists were initially relocated.

The operation involved Police Scotland, SEPA, NHS Highland Public Health, Scottish Water and the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority.

The site of the leak was on land owned by the Ministry of Defense but leased to a local farmer – which includes Fruin Water, where wild salmon and trout spawn and which flows into Loch Lomond.

A protective boom erected in January failed to completely prevent oil from entering the river.

Read more: Finnart oil terminal to close with loss of 20 jobs

Both pipeline operator Petroineos and environmental regulator SEPA say it is only a small amount of oil – but two trucks were deployed this week to remove contaminated soil.

MSP Ross Greer has asked questions three times in the Scottish Parliament about the extent of the leak and the availability of a report.

And last week, Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, Gillian Martin, responded: “The soil investigation report is prepared by Petroineos for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

“The Scottish Government does not expect to receive it officially and has no plans to publish it as this is an operational matter for SEPA.”

“We are informed that ground investigation work has revealed that the contamination is localized and SEPA continues to work with Petroineos and its consultants Adler and Allan to ensure that the physical remediation work that has begun can be carried out in a timely manner.”

“Once the remediation is complete, SEPA will be in a position to issue a statement on the environmental status of the site.”

A SEPA spokesman said it would not comment further at this time, but that “local” meant “limited to the country adjacent to the site of the loss.”

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