Yellowknife (June 20/03) - The GNWT's environmental protection service say they're not sure when an unsightly fuel spill along the Ingraham Trail will be cleaned up.

Emery Paquin, who heads the environmental protection office for Resources, Wildlife, and Economic Development, said that the site is being closely monitored, but high water in the contaminated ditch near Cassidy Point is preventing the clean-up from wrapping up sooner.

"What we're finding this year is that the site is not drying up," said Paquin. "In essence, what we've created is a pond."

The spill occurred March 8 when a fully loaded B-train tanker owned by ARS Trucking out of Edmonton slid into the ditch, spilling 7,000 litres of diesel. The truck was on its way up the winter road to Echo Bay mine with 52,000 litres in its holding tank.

The company removed six dump truck loads of contaminated snow and soil from the area. In doing so, they deepened the ditch, which has filled with spring melt.

To contain the spill, two hay bale dykes were erected and absorbent pads were laid in to soak up the diesel.

The ditch water flows into nearby Tom Lake which leads into Prosperous Lake. Paquin said regular tests show contaminants haven't made it into either lake.

There have been nine fuel spills reported on the Ingraham Trail over the last two years with this one being the worst so far, said Paquin.

"The clean-up is going to take as long as it takes," said Paquin. "There is some contaminated soil on the site. Right now, it's at the bottom of a pond so we cannot get to it.

Ingraham Trail resident Brad Heath said he's concerned what might happen if a tanker spills fuel closer to an important drainage area like the Yellowknife or Cameron Rivers, which supply numerous bodies of water within the North Slave region.

"We're kind of hoping that they (GNWT) will get some money from the feds to fix up the highway, widen it a bit, straighten out some of those bad corners," said Heath. "That would reduce a bit of the worry about more spills."

Paquin agreed that a fuel spill near any of those rivers could be disastrous to the environment.

"Yes it would," said Paquin, noting that the department sits down with trucking companies every year to talk about road safety and fuel spill contingency plans. "There's measures taken but we can't avoid all accidents."