Suncor ignored protocol by not notifying us immediately of spill, First Nation says

EDMONTON – The Fort McKay First Nation is complaining that it had to pursue officials at Suncor for information last week after 350,000 litres of industrial waste water spilled into the Athabasca River in the oilsands north of Fort McMurray.

Fort McKay is the band nearest Suncor’s base of operations, but band spokeswoman Dayle Hyde said Thursday that members had to learn about the March 25 spill from two other sources. They tried to contact the company, but were unable to reach officials designated in an emergency plan drawn up in 2011 after toxic water was discharged into the river for three days from a treatment pond at the same site.

“Suncor is generally good to work with, but at the time we worked with them to develop a protocol because we felt we weren’t properly notified,” Hyde says. “Now two years later, we have had a second incident — and the new protocol that was established wasn’t followed.”

She said they will request a meeting with Suncor representatives to discuss the emergency protocol and other issues. The band has been trying since 2011 to find out what toxins were discharged in the river.

“We have requested specifics of the incident numerous times, and we haven’t got much information,” Hyde says. “If you look at our history, you will see that we try to work in partnerships with oilsands companies. But in this case, we have serious concerns that have not been addressed.”

Sneh Seetal, a spokeswoman for Suncor, says community stakeholders were contacted the evening of March 25, and that the company has communicated directly with Fort McKay First Nation Chief Jim Boucher and with the band’s sustainability department director and staff.

But Hyde says those consultations occurred after the fact — and counter to the plan in place. Last week, Seetal said the leak was reported to the province about 1 p.m. on March 25, but Alberta Environment spokeswoman Jessica Potter said the province learned of the incident at 1:45 p.m.

“There is a written protocol they are supposed to follow that calls for them to contact us within a reasonable time frame,” Hyde says. “If they had time to contact other sources, why not us? We had to pursue them for information.”

On Wednesday, Daniel Stuckless, environmental affairs manager for the Fort McKay First Nation, said Suncor has followed the agreed-upon process for planned events that could affect the community, such as an increase in noise or odour, but has ignored the protocol for pipeline leaks and large spills.

Employees of the band’s sustainability department visited the spill site March 28, and have engaged an independent environmental consultant to test the river water. The company says tests already conducted by a third party downstream of the spill — including at the hamlet of Fort MacKay — found trace amount of oil and gas, total suspended solids and ammonia.

Nikki Booth, spokeswoman for the Alberta Department of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, said the department expects to get comprehensive test results back Friday from Suncor and will likely release the information next week.

The spill occurred when a pipe carrying waste water from Suncor’s oilsands operations became frozen and cracked. The company, which takes measures to keep pipes from cracking in extreme temperatures, is still trying to determine why and how the leak occurred.

The spill has prompted more than 40 groups to petition Alberta Environment Minister Diana McQueen seeking details on both it and the discharge into the river in 2011.

“There needs to be an immediate disclosure of information,” Greenpeace Canada spokesman Mike Hudema says. “If government is trying to raise the bars on the industry’s environmental performance, there is lots of room for improvement.”

Last week, the provincial Environment Development ordered Suncor not to use the treatment pond involved in the 2011 discharge until the company can identify what toxins were spilled. Suncor was acting in contravention of provisions within Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, a correction action notice issued March 28 says.

The company found irregularities in regular monitoring downstream of the 2011 discharge site, and rainbow trout have died in 39 tests of waste water conducted from the treatment pond since then.