May 4, 2011
EDMONTON — While cleanup continues at the site of Alberta's worst oil spill in 35 years, some of those living in the nearby hamlet of Little Buffalo say they are being made sick by a noxious smell they believe has been caused by the spill.
The strong, propane-like odour was first noticed in the community Friday morning, not long after thousands of barrels of crude oil began spewing from a large crack in a 44-year-old pipeline about 30 kilometres away.
"I am thinking they should get us all out of here ASAP," Brian Alexander, principal of the Little Buffalo school, said Wednesday.
The oil leak was discovered early Friday morning after a drop in pressure was detected along the Rainbow pipeline, which runs about 770 kilometres from Zama to Edmonton. The leak was stopped later that day, but not before 4.5 million litres of oil, or 28,000 barrels, leaked into a wetland area near Little Buffalo, about 460 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
The oil spill was contained by a beaver dam, which prevented it from spreading further, and an Alberta Environment spokesman said six beavers and 10 ducks died or had to be euthanized after the spill.
Most nearby residents are members of the Lubicon Cree Nation, a community that remains deeply divided after a 2009 election dispute.
Garrett Tomlinson, a spokesman for one of the men claiming to be the band's chief, said residents are worried.
"The biggest concern that's been identified is the aftermath that's going to be left behind by this environmental catastrophe. What the long-term environmental and health impacts are going to be for the people here . . . and how we're going to move forward to mitigate those negative impacts," Tomlinson said.
The pipeline is owned by Plains Midstream Canada, the Canadian arm of Rainbow All American Pipeline, a company that controls about three million barrels of crude oil a day around the continent. The Rainbow pipeline carried about 187,000 barrels of oil a day in Alberta last year. The same line leaked about 200,000 litres of oil near Slave Lake in 2006.
Company spokesman Roy Lamoreaux said monitoring at the site for hydrocarbons did not find any levels above Alberta ambient air quality guidelines. Air monitoring done at the school failed to find any hydrocarbon levels whatsoever, he said.
Energy Resources Conservation Board spokesman Davis Sheremata said the ERCB is "certain" the odour is not related to the oil spill, but added that its source remains under investigation.
Little Buffalo students were sent home from school Friday because of the smell and classes have not resumed.
Alexander said he believes the smell has to be coming from the spill site, especially since the odour began around the same time as the spill occurred.
"This has never happened before, and it only happens when the wind is from the east," he said. "The spill is in the east. How can it not be from that?"
Steve Noskey, the other man claiming leadership of the First Nation, said he is unhappy with the response from both the oil company and the ERCB, which he says has left residents with many unanswered questions about the impact of the spill on humans and wildlife in the area.
He said a community meeting had been planned for Tuesday but was cancelled by the ERCB, which instead sent a one-page "fact sheet" with information about the spill.
"There are a lot of questions that remain unanswered from Plains and the ERCB . . . and they should be more honest with our First Nation than they have been," he said.
Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner told the media on Wednesday that he was "disappointed" by the oil spill. He described such leaks as "unfortunate" but rare, and said he stood by Alberta's rigorous process for inspecting and maintaining pipelines, and dealing with incidents when they do occur.