Pipeline Vandalism Tracker Detail

Canada

Location: Alberta, Canada

  • Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., 2011: A pipeline owned by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. was vandalized, creating a leak that spilled 30,000 liters of oil and water onto the ground. The vandal used specialized tools to open two valves and remove a plug on the line. (CBC) **near Clear Prairie
  • Paramount Resources, 2017: Vandals used construction equipment located at the site to dig up a portion of the pipeline which will not have to be replaced. Damage to the pipeline was estimated to be between $500,000 and $700,000. (CBC) **Hythe, Alberta

Location: Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada

  • EnCana, 2008: Two acts of sabotage by use of explosives and in the same week, targeted EnCana sour-gas pipelines located near Dawson Creek, B.C. (CBC) **Dawson, Creek, British Columbia

Location: Ontario, Canada

  • Enbridge Line 9, 2019: An anonymous poster is taking credit for drilling holes and pouring corrosive material into sections of stored pipe meant for Enbridge’s Line 10 pipeline. (Vice) **near Hamilton, ontario
  • Enbridge Line 9, 2016: A line was forced to shut down in Hamilton after a valve was tampered with. (CBC) **near Hamilton, ontario
  • Enbridge Line 7, 2016: Protesters restricted flow on Enbridge Line 7 by tampering with a manual valve. (CBC) **near Cambridge, Ontario

United States

Location: Iowa

  • Dakota Access, 2017: Reznicek and Ruby Montoya conducted attacks on the Dakota Access pipeline where each were charged with one count of conspiracy to damage an energy facility, four counts of use of fire in the commission of a felony and four counts of malicious use of fire which caused $100,000 in damages. (Des Moines Register) **Buena Vista County, Iowa
  • Dakota Access, 2017: A suspect burned a hole into the Dakota Access Pipeline in Mahaska County, according to the sheriff’s office. Mahaska County Sheriff Russ VanRenterghem said someone took a blowtorch to the pipeline and burned a hole in it. The burned portion was a safety valve used to shut off that portion of the pipeline if a leak occurred, he said. (Des Moines Register) ** Mahaska County, Iowa
  • Dakota Access, 2016: Heavy equipment being used in the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline in central Iowa was damaged by what authorities suspected was arson. The blaze caused about $2 million worth of damage to an excavator and three bulldozers. (Fox News) **Reasnor, Iowa
  • Dakota Access, 2016: Suspected arson fires in two Iowa counties caused nearly $1 million in damage to construction equipment along the Bakken pipeline project. (Des Moines Register) **Jasper/Mahaska Counties

Location: Louisiana

  • Bayou Bridge, 2019: Protesters took to trees and kayaks to block pipeline construction. Protesters positioned in “aerial blockades” that were used to block trees from being cut down. (InsideSources) **near Atchafalaya Basin, LA
  • Bayou Bridge, 2018: Vandals cut hydraulic hoses and electrical lines, broke windows and spray painted messages on backhoes and bulldozers, causing at least $50,000 worth of damages. (The Advocate) **near Belle Rose, LA

Location: North Dakota

  • Dakota Access, 2016: During a protest against the pipeline, Green Party’s Jill Stein spray painted construction equipment. (NBC News) **Morton County, ND

Location: Michigan

  • Rover Pipeline, 2017: Someone attempted to sabotage the construction of Energy Transfer’s Rover pipeline by pouring dirt, sand, and gravel into the gas tanks of three large backhoes in Putnam Township. (Livingston Daily) **Putnam Township, MI

Location: Minnesota

  • Enbridge Line 4 & Facility, 2019: Four Catholic workers were arrested after entering a fenced off area along Enbridge’s pipeline system in Itasca County and tampering with valves onsite. (Duluth News Tribune) **Itasca County, MN
  • Enbridge Line 3, 2019: Logging equipment was seriously vandalized with sand and water poured into the engine compartments, hydraulic hoses cut, and other wiring cut out of the equipment. The damages totaling more than $100,000 and more than a week of cleanup. (KBJR6) **near Cloquet, MN

Location: Pennsylvania

  • Mariner East, 2017-2018: A central Pennsylvania woman set fires, harassed workers and lured bears to the construction site of the Mariner East pipeline throughout 2017 and 2018. She failed to convince jurors that she was unjustly jailed for her protests in 2019. (PennLive) **Huntingdon County, PA
  • Mariner East, 2018: An anarchist group took credit for sabotaging Mariner East 2 construction by tampering with the liquidation system of an excavator on site. The group made sure to make the damage unnoticeable so that after operating, it would be ruined permanently. They also promoted the sabotage in a blog post. (Philly Anti-Capitalist) **not noted
  • Mariner East, 2018: Vandals cut hydraulic and fuel lines and wiring, tried to seal the cab of one vehicle with silicone, and may have poured sand into a diesel tank of a backhoe and bulldozer in Chester County. (StateImpact) **in Chester County, PA

Location: South Dakota

  • Dakota Access, 2017: Authorities investigated an attempt to vandalize part of the pipeline as security found a hole cut through the fencing surrounding the pipeline. The suspect was believed to be carrying torches in a milk crate. (KDLT News) **Minnehaha County, SD
  • Dakota Access, 2019: A day after the project owner said oil could begin flowing through the pipeline soon, an act of vandalism caused a small crack near a valve site outside Canton, SD that officials stated was “definitely intentional.” (Reuters) **Canton, SD

Location: Virginia

Location: West Virginia

  • Mountain Valley, 2019: 19 year-old Jeremey Edwards was charged with threats of terrorist activity, property destruction, obstruction, and trespassing after he barricaded himself inside a section of the natural gas pipeline. (WOAY TV) **in Summers County, WV