Preparing for the worst.

An unusual degree of excitement in the village today - we are in the midst of an emergency oil spill exercise!

The Forties pipeline system which carries 30% of the UK's North Sea oil comes ashore at Cruden Bay, a few miles to the north of Newburgh. From there a 36 inch diameter underground pipeline carries crude oil to the processing facility at Grangemouth on the Forth estuary.

On its journey the pipeline passes beneath the River Ythan and a number of burns that feed into the river. The Ythan estuary supports internationally important populations of wading birds and wildfowl and a a spill of oil would have disastrous consequences for wildlife. With this in mind there are contingency plans to lay booms across the river to prevent any spilled oil entering the estuary. The equipment is regularly deployed to ensure that all will go well were it ever to be used in anger. This morning's exercise involved laying a boom across the Foveran Burn.