500 waterfowl at risk after landing on toxic pond; Alberta Environment may prosecute Syncrude

Archie McLean & Hanneke Brooymans, April 30, 2008, The Edmonton Journal -- Syncrude could face charges after it failed to keep migratory waterfowl off one of its oilsands tailings ponds and then allegedly failed to immediately report the incident to Alberta Environment.

Up to 500 ducks could die as a result of landing on an oily, toxic pond in the Aurora mine site, 35 kilometres northeast of Syncrude's original site.

A tailings pond holds the remaining clay, water, sand, hydrocarbons and heavy metals that are left after water washes oil out of sand in the extraction process.

An anonymous tipster reported the presence of the birds to an Alberta fish and wildlife office Monday in Fort McMurray between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

An investigation is ongoing, but so far it appears the company did not report the incident to Alberta Environment, said Kim Capstick, a ministry spokeswoman.

Under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, any spill, release or emergency that could harm the environment must be immediately reported to Alberta Environment.

The government says it takes a failure to report an incident seriously. The City of Edmonton was prosecuted for failing to report a PCB spill during the 2001 World Championships in Athletics.

The city was eventually acquitted of all charges.

The logic behind this legislation is that quick notification allows the government to respond quickly and reduce the overall damage.

Environment Canada is also involved in the investigation because ducks are protected under the Migratory Birds Convention Act.

Syncrude spokesman Alain Moore said the company notified regulators with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development Monday and even had them tour the site.

The government also requires Syncrude to have a waterfowl protection plan in place that keeps birds off all tailings ponds.

If an investigation shows Syncrude did not comply, the Alberta government could prosecute, with penalties reaching up to $1 million.

Company staff were working Tuesday with staff from Alberta Sustainable Resource Development and Alberta Environment to try to save the ducks.

The rescue attempt was bogged down by the lack of a proper beach from which to launch boats. The company had to bring in a crane to lower the boats into the water, Moore said.

But the ducks are trying to evade capture by diving and in the process are getting soaked with even more oil. Some of them are sinking, Capstick said.

"It will be really unlikely that any of the birds will survive," she said.

Environment Minister Rob Renner said this "is a tragedy and this is unacceptable."

Renner said he was concerned Syncrude apparently didn't tell the government about the ducks but that voluntary reporting usually works well.

"There is an auditing process, but there are simply not enough wildlife officers, environment officers to be monitoring every operation throughout the entire province 365 days a year," Renner said.

Premier Ed Stelmach said he wants to find out if Syncrude was following the guidelines set out in its licence.

"As the government of Alberta, we mean business," he said.

"So if we issue a licence and there are certain conditions under that licence, the company has to make sure that they conform."

Stelmach said the investigation will determine if Syncrude will be charged. But he cautioned against blaming the company too quickly.

"You're not going to point fingers at someone, you're not going to declare them guilty without getting all the evidence."

Moore said Syncrude has never had an incident like this in its 30 years of operation.

When staff first found out ducks were landing on the tailings pond, they brought out more propane-fired cannons to try to keep more birds from landing.

The noise-makers are deployed each spring and fall to keep migrating birds away from the ponds. The company had already set up the cannons in the highest risk areas earlier this month and were in the process of deploying the equipment at the Aurora tailings pond when the massive snowstorm recently hit.

Alberta Liberal environment critic David Swann said the timing of the bird deaths is "ironic in the extreme."

"What I see is a government that is running scared," Swann said.

"Their reputation, the industry itself's reputation around the world is seriously undermined. Our whole economic base has to do with the public trust that we are doing our due diligence and protecting the environment."

Swann said the government cannot win its public relations battle unless it begins to slow the pace of development in the oilsands. He wants no new development until there's a land use framework in place, more social and physical infrastructure and more research into the environmental impacts of the oilsands.