Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Nahanni Butte (Mar 08/02) - The Nahanni Butte Dene band's development corporation has secured a $400,000 contract to dispose of two diesel fuel caches near the community.

The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) is behind the contribution agreement, which requires that an estimated 400,000 litres of diesel fuel from the Cat Camp and Grainger sites be incinerated, according to Scott Mitchell, head of DIAND's contaminated sites office.

Fuel samples from the sites revealed that the diesel was no longer usable, Mitchell said. The risk of a spill in transporting the fuel from the site was also weighed, he said.

"It came up that the best thing to do was just to burn it on site," said Mitchell.

The Nahanni Butte band will oversee project management, provide labour and will be responsible to sub-contract a company that specializes in incineration.

Fuel burn-off, expected to be carried out at a rate of 21,000 litres per day at each site, will be completed by March 31.

A second phase of the cleanup, which would entail removal of the fuel tanks and reclamation of any fuel-soaked soil, will be done "depending on funding," Mitchell said.

A leak was detected at the Cat Camp fuel cache a few years ago but the drip was subsequently addressed.

"Right now the emergency is to stop any further contamination of the area," said Mitchell.

Cat Camp is located 90 kilometres southwest of Nahanni Butte while Grainger is 30 kilometres northwest of Lindberg Landing, which is near the Liard Highway.

The fuel caches were established by the Hunt Brothers, the original owners of what is now Prairie Creek Mine, in the early 1980s. The mine has gone through changes in ownership since then, clouding the liability issue. However, DIAND will be paying for the clean up, Mitchell said.

"Once it comes to my office usually the legal end of it has been looked at."