Good morning. Mark Iype, Alberta bureau chief, here from Edmonton today.
Late last week, The Globe and Mail first reported on how, for almost a year, water tainted with dangerous levels of arsenic, dissolved metals and hydrocarbons had been seeping from tailings at the Kearl oil sands project in northern Alberta.
Emma Graney, our energy reporter, who broke the story, also reported that last month a drainage pond at the site overflowed, spilling an estimated 5.3 million litres of industrial wastewater into the environment.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam told The Globe that neither Imperial Oil, the company responsible for the leak, nor Alberta’s energy regulator had notified him or his council of the extent of the problem until after the pond had overflowed.
And it seems communication problems are a growing issue.
The Northwest Territories government has now enacted a dispute mechanism against the Alberta government over a bilateral water management agreement between the two jurisdictions, saying the deal was broken when the territory was also kept in the dark about the leaks.
“We weren’t advised, so I was not a happy camper,” the territory’s Environment and Natural Resources Minister, Shane Thompson, told The Globe.
At a news conference Monday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the province’s duty to inform the Northwest Territories would only have been triggered if contaminated water had leaked into waterways that flowed north.
She said it was “unfortunate” that nobody had reached out, calling it a “misstep.” Mr. Thompson strongly disputed her characterization of what happened.
Despite reassurances from Imperial Oil, the Alberta Energy Regulator and the Alberta government, who all insist contaminants have not entered any waterways travelling to their northern neighbours, trust within the territory is running low.
Last week, 500 kilometres away along the Alberta-Northwest Territories border, the Fort Smith Métis Council began its own testing of the Slave River for contamination from the Kearl oil sands project. And it has now expanded testing to the Salt, Taltson and Little Buffalo rivers.
The environmental coordinator for the Métis Council, Jon McDonald, told The Globe that initial testing of the Slave River hasn’t uncovered any contaminants, though the council is awaiting more results later this week.
“We’re not just accepting Alberta’s word for it. We want our scientists to look at it because we’re downriver ... so we need to know what’s going on,” Mr. Thompson said.
For its part, Imperial Oil reiterated that it has fallen short of communities’ expectations for transparency and communication.
“We want to continue to assure communities extensive and ongoing water monitoring has confirmed that seepage has not entered local waterways,” it said.
“We are also working to provide information to the Government of the Northwest Territories.”
This is the weekly Western Canada newsletter written by B.C. Editor Wendy Cox and Alberta Bureau Chief Mark Iype. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.
Wendy Cox