Syncrude's oil sands plant at Mildred Lake, north of Fort McMurray, Alta.Kevin Van Paassen
Hundreds of ducks are dead after landing in a toxic Syncrude tailings pond on Monday, igniting yet another public-relations disaster for a company and an industry that was slapped with the largest environmental penalty in Alberta court history just three days ago.
Late last night, workers at Syncrude Canada Ltd. were scrambling to save a handful of surviving birds still wading atop the Mildred Lake Settling Basin north of Fort McMurray. At least 230 of the bitumen-laden animals had already been euthanized.
"They came into contact with bitumen, so we've had to euthanize them," said company spokeswoman Cheryl Robb. "This has hit us all very hard."
An ice storm may have forced the birds to seek refuge on the pond, despite the presence of advanced radar and sound cannon systems Syncrude set up to avoid a repeat of an incident two years ago in which 1,600 mallards died on the nearby Aurora tailings pond.
The deterrent systems were up and running on Monday night, according to Ms. Robb.
At around 10:15 p.m., several employees spotted the ducks floating on the pond and tried to roust them off with flares and horns. "For some reason, they would not be scared away," said Ms. Robb. "There were birds at the Aurora site that night as well, but we were able to scare them off."
Federal and provincial officials confirmed that birds landed at ponds run by Suncor and Shell as well, but the companies could not supply any further details at press time.
In the wake of the Aurora deaths, the province stiffened requirements for bird deterrent systems on tailings ponds, but no fail-safe method exists.
"Any time there is human interaction with the environment, there is impact on ecosystems and wildlife," said Alberta Minister of Environment Rob Renner. "Even so, this is disappointing. This is frustrating. An investigation is underway."
Last Friday, an Alberta court levied a $3-million dollar fine against Syncrude for the death of 1,606 mallards in 2008. The company initially reported that 500 had succumbed. That lapse - along with images of dead, bitumen-covered birds - provided the graphic basis for a growing international environmental movement opposed to oil-sands development.
That lobby has scored a combination of blows against the industry over the last year. Prominent U.S. lawmakers, including House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have met with Canadian environmentalists to discuss ecological problems associated with Alberta oil. Two massive American retailers, Whole Foods Market and Walgreens, have said they will try to use non-oil-sands fuels. Hollywood movie director James Cameron brought negative international scrutiny to the region when he visited last month.
The industry is fighting back with a PR campaign of its own. Throughout September, Alberta's Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations blitzed the U.S. touting the oil sands as a green resource that will only become greener as new technologies to eliminate tailings ponds come on line.
That long-awaited milestone - the eventual purging of toxic ponds - is the real issue that the duck deaths has raised, says one environmental group.
"It's one thing for the minister to express disappointment over birds, but the government of Alberta is not taking the cleanup of these ponds seriously," said Simon Dyer, oil sands program director at The Pembina Institute. "The real issue is the 840-billion litres of tailings that is growing all the time. Any talk about birds, sound cannons and radar detection is missing the larger issue."
A provincial directive forcing companies to capture and store 50 per cent of tailings by 2013 came into effect last year, but Mr. Dyer says just two of nine oil-sands companies have submitted plans that will actually comply.
"It's cheaper for these companies to allow this problem to grow and pass the problem onto the people of Alberta," he said.
Patrick White