AB Environment Minister apologizes to communities near oil spill
EDMONTON - Residents living near the site of the massive oil spill in northern Alberta are receiving an apology from Alberta's Environment Minister, who made his first visit to the site on Saturday.
"I think we all could have done a better job - government and industry - in communicating with the local communities. I extended my apologies that that didn't take place and assured them that we'll be doing everything we can to make sure they are informed," Renner says.
On his tour of the pipeline spill, Renner was accompanied by members and leaders of the surrounding First Nations communities. Up until now, the residents have expressed their frustration with the lack of information provided to them about the impact of the 4.5-million litre crude oil spill near their homes. Members of the Lubicon Lake First Nation confronted security officials on Thursday, demanding access to the site. Chief Steve Noskey was told he would be granted access to the site only if all cameras were left behind. But Noskey refused, saying he wanted to document the scene.
Renner says those tensions have now eased and that residents are pleased with the amount of input that they are receiving from the oil company and from government. But he admits lessons need to be learned from this event.
As for the spill itself, Renner is confident the company, Plains Midstream, is doing a very good job containing the spill and cleaning up the damage. He says 25% of the initial free-flowing oil has been recovered. And while it may be another month before the inital reclamation phase is complete, Renner believes this spill was an extremely rare event and he stands behind Alberta's oil pipelines.
"We do a very good job in ensuring that the pipelines we have are viable, are safe, and well maintained. And in this particular instance, it very well may be that there will be lessons learned that the ERCB will look at," Renner says.
Plains Midstream currently has about 300 people working around the clock to clean up the spill. The company will be responsible for the full-cost of the clean-up.
