Broughton Island (Jun 26/06) - A late-January fuel spill in Qikiqtarjuaq that was left in place is an ongoing headache for the community and the government.

The spring thaw has only complicated matters as some leftover oil and water from the spill recently made its way into the ocean.

The Department of Environment has since opened an investigation.

Clean-up costs are projected to reach as much as $100,000, according to Nelson Pisco, acting director of technical services for the Department of Community and Government Services.

A leak from a partially buried fuel tank caused oil to seep under the hamlet office building in late January. Media reports indicated it was in the range of 1,000 litres, but the government and hamlet now say that they are unsure of the amount. The tank had a capacity of approximately 6,000 litres.

Initial clean-up in the dead of winter was limited because the Department of Environment and a contractor believed the spill was primarily contained in the crawl space, Pisco said. The priority at that time was to reduce the overwhelming fumes affecting workers in the building, he noted.

Extenuating circumstances that Pisco didn't want to publicly explain last week resulted in delays in getting a contractor to undertake some of the work. Nunatta Environmental, an Iqaluit-based engineering firm, was eventually hired. Its staff arrived in Qikiqtarjuaq during the week of May 20. They removed 33 cubic metres of polluted soil, said Pisco.

But by early June, with the melt in full swing and ice breaking up in the bay, it became obvious that some of the oily water had run into the ocean, possibly due to the activation of the sump pump under the building.

A report by Nunatta indicates that the oily water was concentrated along the shoreline, Pisco said. It's suspected that about 90-95 per cent was recovered, he noted.

Environment Canada had an enforcement officer at the site last week. When asked whether charges are pending, Craig Broome, manager of enforcement for Environment Canada, declined to elaborate on the specifics of the investigation.

"Based on the resources available there, they seemed to be doing a good job," he would only say.

Qikiqtarjuaq Mayor Lootie Toomasie's wasn't quite so complimentary. He said that the territorial government should have responded sooner and the delays "have really caused an impact."

Moreover, the mayor said the oil tank was originally half-buried by the territorial government, which turned the building over to the hamlet in the late 1970s.

"So it's really the GN's fault. This kind of design should have never happened up here in the North," Toomasie contended.

Pisco pointed out that the hamlet should have been monitoring the tank and could have raised it themselves during the many intervening years.

Although Toomasie feels the government is responsible, Shawn Maley, assistant deputy minister of Community and Government Services, said the hamlet's insurance may well cover a substantial portion of the costs. The onus will be on the municipality to pay any shortfall, but the government will not leave the community in a "financially precarious" position, said Maley.