Yellowknife (Oct 22/04) - An NWT Power Corporation official called it a "lesson learned" after failing to go public when a large diesel spill occurred at its Jackfish Lake Power Plant one month ago.

The Power Corp. was still in the process of excavating 210 heavy truckloads of contaminated soil from the Jackfish property when a plant operator blew the whistle two weeks after the spill occurred.

On Wednesday, the company announced that its earlier claim of only 3,000 litres of diesel spilled overnight on Sept. 22 was wrong. They now say it was actually 13,000 litres.

"Right from the beginning it didn't seem to be a very serious incident," said Brian Willows, director of corporate operations.

"Now that we've got a better understanding, obviously we're trying to make as much information available as we can."

He said they upgraded the number to 13,000 litres after conducting another investigation, taking plant efficiency and the amount of fuel normally consumed into account.

Operator disputed size

Earlier this month, plant operator Dennis Labelle disputed the Power Corp.'s original estimates, claiming it was more like 50,000 litres of diesel that spilled.

Willows said he is confident the latest amount given is the most accurate.

"While this calculation is as accurate as it can be, it's also based on some reasonable assumptions," said Willows.

"It's estimated that there is a 1,400 litre margin of error."

The spill occurred after a valve was left partially open, said Willows.

Diesel fuel leaked both inside the plant and over a large swath of ground outside.

Willows said a berm has been put up to ensure the diesel doesn't get into the lake. The contaminated soil was taken for disposal to the city landfill.

Security on site

Since the spill, a security company has been hired to watch over the plant at night. Previously, plant operators worked overnight to guard against spills and start up the diesel generators when needed, but the night shift was cut last June.

A systems operator is still present overnight, but he is largely confined to his office.

Even with an expected clean-up cost of between $100,000 and $150,000, the company is still saving around $400,000 to $500,000 a year by staffing the station with plant operators for only eight hours a day, Willows said.

Plant operators make between $100,000 to $120,000 a year, not including benefits and overtime, Willows said.

"From our operational perspective it's not necessary to return to 24-hour coverage," said Willows.

"The mines have shut down and our diesel generation requirements have reduced significantly."

As for crumbling staff morale and abuse from management claimed by Labelle, Willows said he wouldn't talk about personnel issues.

Labelle is out of town and could not be reached for further comment.

Willows said the spill should be taken into perspective. Over the last 15 years the plant has consumed one billion litres of diesel without any serious spills, he said.

"When you're dealing with those types of volumes over time, you're going to have the odd spill," said Willows.

"Our priority, as always, is to clean it up and be a good corporate citizen."

Ed Hornby, district manager for the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, said it's not unusual for numbers to change after a spill is reported.

He wouldn't say, however, whether he felt the discrepancy from the previous spill volume given by the Power Corp. on the latest spill appeared excessive.

"I don't want to comment on that," said Hornby. "You know what the numbers are."

City councillor Kevin O'Reilly said he is troubled by what he's heard about the Jackfish spill.

"I'm certainly surprised there wasn't any effort to inform the public about what happened out there," said O'Reilly. "It seems like they should have more staff on the site to ensure this kind of thing doesn't happen again."