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Spill cleanup may happen next year Jeanne Gagnon Northern News Services Published Monday, November 7, 2011
About 87,000 litres of fuel leaked at Resolute's tank farm the evening of Oct. 27. Earle Baddaloo, the assistant deputy minister of Environment, said due to winter conditions and limited daylight, the decision is pending whether to clean up the spill now or in the spring. Territorial environmental staff are in Resolute to assess the situation, he added. "We want to see how they are going to deal with it, before the spring melt or at the spring melt next year," he said. "Right now, everything is within the berm area so there is no real concern." Elissa McKinnon is the spokeswoman for the Department of Community and Government Services. "The gas distribution is back to normal in the community as all the affected area around the actual distribution pump has been cleaned," she said. "We believe there will be an adequate volume of gasoline to last until resupply but we will be readily monitoring consumption throughout the year." The RCMP investigation to determine the cause of the spill continues. RCMP Sgt. Kevin Lewis said the Resolute detachment is still taking statements and looking for any witnesses. "The RCMP were called on Oct 28 at 7:30 a.m. once it was learned there was a leak," he stated via e-mail. "In these instances, we automatically conduct an investigation to either prove or rule out suspicious activity. It is unknown at this time whether it was an intentional or accident opening of the valve." Resolute Mayor Tabitha Mullin said the territory's environment department is trying to determine if any fuel went outside the berm. "There has been some initial cleanup done," she said.
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