Four sites at the CNRL Primrose and Wolf Lake locations are still releasing bitumen emulsion to the surface, according to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER).
The AER said the latest bitumen release, reported on June 24, was mapped out and found to have affected 13.5 hectares of land, including an unnamed body of water on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range, at Primrose South.
On July 25, CNRL Investor Relations issued a response to the situation in an email to the Bonnyville Nouvelle.
“The areas have been secured and the emulsion is being managed with clean up, recovery and reclamation activities well underway. The presence of emulsion on the surface does not pose a health or human safety risk. The sites are located in a remote area, which has restricted access to the public. The emulsion is being effectively cleaned up with manageable environmental impact.”
Bob Curran, AER public affairs officer, said, as of July 22, the investigation is ongoing, and the AER is working alongside the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) and CNRL officials.
Investigators have yet to determine the cause and impact of the release
“We are investigating the likely cause of the occurrence, which we believe to be mechanical,” CNRL stated. “Working with the AER to minimize the risk of any future occurrences, we have made adjustments to our current steaming strategy and monitoring programs.”
The AER has yet to figure out an estimate as to how much bitumen emulsion has seeped to the surface, stating that it gets mixed with other elements as it reaches the surface.
“We don't have an estimate of volumes. When they are pulling in emulsion, its got other things with it. There has been impacted vegetation and what not, so we don't have a number for the amount of bitumen that they have recovered at this time,” said Curran.
CNRL has acknowledged that wildlife in the region has been affected and say the company is doing what it can to control the damage.
“We are saddened that unfortunately some animal fatalities occurred between the time of the incident and the deployment of our animal deterrent systems. Deceased wildlife includes 11 birds, four small mammals and 21 amphibians. Two beavers, a bird and a muskrat are currently being cared for at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton. As part of our wildlife mitigation program, fencing and deterrents have been deployed in the area to protect wildlife,” the company explained.
Curran says that CNRL followed procedure and notified the AER as soon as the problems were noticed. He also said that the AER does do inspections regularly on sites of all oil companies.
“We have staff that operate out of the Bonnyville field center and they go out and do regular inspections,” said Curran.
“In this case we'll go on a site but we inspect facilities. All of these (incidents), they are not directly associated with a specific facility. They are coming directly out of the ground. Depending on where an inspector goes on a site they may or may not have seen it,” said Curran.
Mike Hudema, a Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner, is skeptical about the way the Alberta government has handled the situation and feels there are way too many unanswered questions.
“The big question that the Alberta government really has a lot to answer for is why they hide key details about these spills from the public,” said Hudema July 25. “If you read the two releases from the AER it paints a fairly rosy picture – that the spill is under control, that the clean-up operations are in effect – the real story is that is anything but true. We have four spills that are out of control, which the government and the company cannot stop, that animals have died as a result of. It really suggests that the government is trying to cover up this spill or at least hide the more damaging details of it.”
The AER has said that once the investigation comes to a close it will issue a public statement.
Curran was hesitant in putting a time frame on the situation, saying, “Normally, these things take months.”
