N.W.T. says lack of notice on Kearl oilsands tailings spill goes against deal with Alberta | 24CA News
Alberta didn’t reside as much as the phrases of a deal it has with the Northwest Territories to tell it about threats to its shared watershed after two main oilsands tailings spills, the territory’s atmosphere minister mentioned Friday.
Shane Thompson mentioned the dearth of communication isn’t encouraging as Alberta and the federal authorities work out the phrases below which tailings will likely be handled and launched into the Athabasca River.
“The bilateral agreement says Alberta is supposed to advise us with any ecological changes that happen and they didn’t do that,” he mentioned.
“This event underlines our position. The government of the N.W.T. will not support the release of tailings unless rigorous science shows how to do it.
“We also need to see the science.”
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Alberta band chief offended over silence from Imperial Oil after Kearl oilsands tailings spill
Employees at Imperial Oil’s Kearl Lake oilsands facility first reported seepage from a tailings pond final May to the Alberta Energy Regulator.
A second launch of at the very least 5.3 million litres of wastewater was reported in early February from a storage pond. That makes it, by itself, one of many largest spills in Alberta historical past.
The tailings leaked onto muskeg and forest in addition to a small lake and tributaries of the Firebag and Muskeg rivers.
The wastewater exceeds federal and provincial tips for iron, arsenic, sulphates and hydrocarbons that might embrace kerosene, creosote and diesel.
The seepage, the quantity of which hasn’t been estimated, continues.
An undated picture of a tailings pond at Imperial Oil’s Kearl Lake oilsands mine in northern Alberta.
Supplied to Global News
Thompson mentioned his authorities was by no means formally notified concerning the spill, regardless of the 2015 legally binding Mackenzie Basin Bilateral Water Management settlement with Alberta.
That settlement emphasizes a number of instances the significance of mutual and immediate notification of adjustments on the watershed, together with throughout an emergency.
“The protocols will ensure that the party within whose jurisdiction the emergency originates will, without delay, notify the other partner,” it says.
Thompson mentioned he met a number of instances together with his Alberta counterpart Sonya Savage — who was earlier the province’s vitality minister — after the leak was first reported and earlier than Feb. 6, when the Alberta Energy Regulator issued an environmental safety order.
“At no point in time did that conversation come up,” he mentioned.
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault mentioned he’s deeply involved concerning the reviews concerning the Kearl mine tailings ponds.
He mentioned his first ideas are for the well being and well-being of households in Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and different affected communities.
“I have reached out to both Chief (Allan) Adam from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation as well as my counterpart in Alberta, Minister Sonya Savage, to get to the bottom of the situation from their perspectives and offer the unwavering support of the federal government,” Guilbeault mentioned in a press release.
Guilbeault mentioned federal enforcement officers from his division will likely be given all of the assets essential to proceed their unbiased evaluation, below the jurisdiction of the federal Fisheries Act, to find out subsequent steps.
“We need to see a clear remediation plan from the company and to better understand the apparent failures of communication for the notification of this spill,” he mentioned.
“Rebuilding a relationship based on trust will take a concerted effort, as well as transparency, collaboration and industry investment.”
Savage mentioned Alberta’s United Conservative Party authorities is monitoring the scenario and she or he and Premier Danielle Smith have been briefed by the province’s regulator.
“We understand from them that remediation is underway, and no contaminated water has entered into the water system or affected human health or wildlife,” Savage mentioned in a launch.
“The Government of Alberta is standing by to assist the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and other communities in any way necessary should it be required, and we look forward to the results of the AER investigation.”
Neither authorities has indicated once they first realized of the leak.
This is just not the primary time the N.W.T. has expressed frustration with its upstream neighbour.
In August 2020, the territory was sad about not being informed Alberta had suspended environmental monitoring on the Athabasca attributable to COVID-19 considerations. Monitoring was later resumed and nonetheless continues.
Now, Thompson mentioned the territory isn’t enjoying a large enough function in growing rules for the eventual launch of handled oilsands tailings water into the river.
“We need the science that they’re supposed to share with us,” he mentioned. “It has to be transparent.
“We’ve started the conversation, (but) we want it to be more on a regular basis.”
Meanwhile, a second First Nation has complained about being poorly knowledgeable concerning the spills on lands they harvest from.
On Thursday, Chief Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation mentioned he solely realized of the extent of the spill after the Alberta Energy Regulator issued the environmental safety order and accused Imperial of attempting to cowl it up.
Friday, the Mikisew Cree First Nation mentioned it had been handled the identical approach.
Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro mentioned the failure to maintain his band posted is a failure by the Alberta Energy Regulator. Scientists warned of the probability of seepage from the bottom below the tailings pond when the undertaking was first authorized, he mentioned.
“The AER and Canada approved Imperial’s project knowing the risk of seepage for this tailing pond. There needs to be an independent review of the approval of this tailings pond and the AER’s management of this mess,” he mentioned.
