Spill concerns linger months after train derails in Delta, B.C.

A B.C. man is raising pollution concerns in the aftermath of a train derailment in North Delta in November.

The derailment happened on Nov. 19, 2023, near Highway 91 and 64 Avenue, and involved two locomotives and five cars carrying “freight of all kinds” according to BSNF Railway.

John Easton has been monitoring the crash site with a drone since November, and told Global News he’s worried about the after effects.

0:20 Train derails in North Delta early Sunday morning

“When the accident first took place I saw a lot of contamination, what looked to me like diesel fuel and possibly some type of bunker fuel that was spilled into the ditches,” he said.

“Over the few weeks that went by initially they were attempting to clean it up, and using my drone and looking at it from above I could see that oil had moved all the way down this pathway as well as appeared to have seeped under this high pressure sewer line.”

Easton said it appears to him that some of the oil has begun to appear on the other side of Highway 91.

He said he’s spoken with a blueberry farmer in the area who irrigates his fields from a ditch that appears to have been contaminated.

“This area is rich in farmland, but also its part of the Delta flightway and I know there’s lots of different types of birds that migrate through these fields,” he added.

0:30 Five-car train derailment at Canadian Pacific Railyard in Port Coquitlam

B.C.’s Environment Ministry said it deployed an emergency response team to the site after the derailment, and that it confirmed about 8,000 litres of fuel had spilled into the railway ditch.

“BNSF has retained an environmental contractor and begun surface, soil, and water inspections and remediation,” it said in a statement.

“The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy continues to monitor the site cleanup until we are satisfied that the area is fully remediated.”

Global News is seeking comment from BNSF about materials escaped from the train after the derailment and the efforts of clean up.

For now, hazmat teams are on site continuing to try and contain the contaminants using booms, sandbags and absorbent pads.