NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
A broken pipe and spilled contaminated water has raised more concern about the environmental impact of Alberta's oilsands development on the rivers that flow north into the NWT.
Tom Unka: Northwest Territory Metis Nation environmentalist says most recent spill in the oilsands will add to existing problems. - NNSL file photo
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According to online updates from oilsands giant Suncor, a four-inch-diameter line, approximately 10 feet in length, froze and broke at its oilsands base plant north of Fort McMurray on March 25, allowing water used in its operations to flow to a partially-frozen outfall pond and into an approved discharge point.
"It was diluted with water intended for release and then flowed into the river," the company stated. "Although we don’t anticipate any impact on the river, as a precautionary measure, we continue to analyze river samples downstream from this release."
It is estimated that 350 cubic metres of process-affected water were released into the Athabasca River over an approximately 10-hour period.
"As soon as we realized there was a discharge into the river, work immediately began to stop the flow," the company stated. "Our tests confirm the process-affected water was a combination of water with suspended solids (clays and fine particulates) and inorganic and organic compounds. It does not contain bitumen. This process-affected water was mixed with treated water, prior to entering the river. The ratio was approximately six parts treated water to one part process-affected water.
Suncor has engaged a third party to determine the impact of the process-affected water entering the river.
"Based on modeling, preliminary volume calculations, and the current flow rate of the river, the process-affected water may have had a short term, negligible impact on the river," the company stated.
Fort Resolution's Tom Unka, an environmental advisor with the Northwest Territory Metis Nation, said the spill involved 350,000 litres.
"It's quite a bit of effluent," he said.
The Athabasca River flows into Lake Athabasca, which leads to the Slave River and further north.
"It's only going to add to the already existing problems that we have with the some of the suspected effluents coming down the Athabasca River," Unka said of the latest spill. "It's only going to add to the soup."
There are already effects from the oilsands in rivers to the north, he noted.
"To reverse something like that, I think it's going to take years and years to do that," he said. "So we're just learning to live with it and how to not let it affect our way of life too much."
On March 28, Mark Little, Suncor’s executive vice-president for the oil sands, addressed the "unfortunate incident" north of Fort McMurray.
"This incident has been deeply troubling to us and I’d like to express our apologies and convey that we are completing a thorough investigation of what happened," Little stated.
The Suncor official called the incident deeply disappointing and said he personally is going to make sure that the company understands how it happened and will work to prevent it from happening in the future.
Water testing was conducted upstream and at multiple points downstream, including at Fort McKay and Fort Chipewyan.
Greenpeace Canada used the spill to criticize the overall monitoring of the oilsands development.
"Maybe if we had the long-promised independent monitoring system we would have some answers we could trust, but it's still years away from implementation and the Alberta government still hasn't committed to its independence," wrote Mike Hudema, an energy campaigner with Greenpeace Canada, in online reaction to the spill. "Companies and governments shouldn't be able to get away with incidents like this. We deserve answers, we deserve accountability, and we deserve more than another toxic spill."
