The Environment Department of the western prairie province of Alberta has ordered a company dealing with oil spills to drain “a bitumen-affected waterbody before it freezes, so permanent containment measures can be put in place during the winter.”
Oil spills occurred this summer at a project of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) and have been criticized by environmentalists and the Cold Lake First Nation Indigenous community in the northern part of Alberta.
The “environmental protection order” was issued Tuesday (September 24) by the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Department.
According to the order the drainage is being requested now to “minimize the long-term environmental impact to the waterbody.”
The order requires “the temporary dewatering of approximately two-thirds of the 53 hectare waterbody, just prior to freeze-up,” and says “A large portion of the removed water will be stored in the remaining one-third of the waterbody, so water levels can be restored in the spring of 2014.”
The Cold Lake First Nation community has been raising concerns about the impact of oil extraction by companies all around the community, and on traditional lands, and the spills that have occurred this summer.
In an interview with RCI last week, band councillor Cecil Janvier said: “They’re not being forthright with us [about] the spills. They’re not being honest.”
More information:
Alberta Government order – Energy company ordered to temporarily remove water on Cold Lake Weapons Range – here
Canadian Natural Resources Limited press release (pdf) – here
RCI interview with Cold Lake First Nation band councillor Cecil Janvier – here
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