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Two more months of gas for Norman Wells
Mayor says there's a '50-50' chance the town's 840 residents will be forced to evacuate in the fall

Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 11, 2011

LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS - Last Thursday Norman Wells' emergency measures organization met to determine how it would evacuate the town's 840 people if, in fact, it ever comes to that.

"It's a wait-and-see game. We don't know when the Rainbow (Pipeline) is going to open," Mayor Dudley Johnson said.

"I'd say right now I'm sitting at '50-50'," he said

On June 30, Johnson received a call from Imperial Oil representatives in town telling him it can supply residents with natural gas for another two months.

The good news came after the company was able to increase its oil storage capacity, which delays having to shut down oil production. Once they do, natural gas, which is created as a byproduct of its oil production, will no longer be available.

At that time, Norman Wells will have to switch to using propane, which can't run through their system in cold weather.

The gas system in Norman Wells is used for home heating, cooking appliances, hot water and dryers.

Without these things, residents would be forced to evacuate.

"It's stressful but there's nothing we can do. We're doing the best we can under the circumstances," he said, adding, "I still have all my hair."

The emergency measures organization includes representatives from health and social services, the fire department, the airport and airlines, Imperial Oil, social services, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and business owners.

In the event of an emergency, Johnson would hold the reigns.

Although they won't know for months whether they will have to evacuate or not, he said the last thing they want is to be caught without a plan.

In the event of an evacuation, they would have to co-ordinate getting the town's "people, pets and animals" out by air, he said, because the ice road wouldn't be open yet.

They would also have to hire security to watch over the town, especially once the road opens and traffic increases.

Johnson didn't know yet where they would send residents, but said one option was Yellowknife.

Norman Wells has been in a declared state of emergency since May 6 following a leak in the Rainbow Pipeline, which connects to the Enbridge pipeline out of Norman Wells, on April 29.

On May 20 clean-up crews were evacuated from the site of the spill, lengthening the amount of time it would take to get the 44-year-old pipeline back up and running.

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