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Tailings pond breaks law: federal officer
News Articles | Edmonton Journal | Alexandra Zabjek | March 10, 2010
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Syncrude not charged until 2008 duck deaths
ST. ALBERT — Syncrude’s Aurora tailings pond violates a federal law designed to protect migratory birds, an Environment Canada officer told provincial court Tuesday during the oilsands giant’s trial for 1,600 waterfowl deaths.
Kristopher Dirks said that until this case, no charges have been pursued against Syncrude for the handful of reported waterfowl deaths that occurred on its tailings ponds every year for the past 20 years. He said this was because bird deterrents on the ponds showed the company was taking action to keep the birds away.
That changed, however, after an incident April 28, 2008, that saw hundreds of waterfowl land on the giant toxic tailings pond near Fort McMurray.
It was initially estimated about 500 waterfowl died on the pond that contains industrial waste. But the death tally mounted and Dirks told court that one month after the incident, Syncrude staff contacted him for help to deal with the more than 800 dead birds that were piling up in the company’s freezers.
Syncrude has pleaded not guilty to charges under the Alberta Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act. More than 1,600 birds were eventually found to have died on the Aurora tailings pond.
The federal charge accuses Syncrude of depositing a substance that is harmful to migratory birds in an area that is frequented by those birds.
Dirks said various agreements between the province and Syncrude, and between various federal and provincial bodies, have allowed tailings ponds to exist.
Dirks told court a federal investigation into the April 2008 incident started in earnest after he learned of an e-mail allegedly seen by several Syncrude staff members in the days before the incident. The e-mail allegedly showed staff were aware of migratory birds present in the area of its tailings ponds at least as early as April 17, 2008, 11 days before the incident occurred.
During cross-examination, Dirks told Syncrude lawyer Robert White the company’s staff had said a snowstorm prevented them from getting bird deterrents onto the tailings pond.
White asked if Dirks had any reason to doubt that response. Dirks replied that it appeared a snowstorm didn’t happen until April 20 and he wondered why the deterrents could not have been put out between the time the e-mail was circulated and the snowstorm.
Court also heard Tuesday from a weather expert from Environment Canada, who testified that a storm hit the Fort McMurray area around April 20, 2008, dumping almost 38 centimetres of snow in three days. The storm was followed by a temperature spike that saw most of the snow melt between April 24 and 29.
White has previously said outside court that the aftermath of the snowstorm impeded the company’s ability to deploy all of its noise cannons. He said the temperature spike caused the snow to melt, causing the sand on the edges of the tailings pond to become soggy and difficult to navigate, meaning the company could not complete the deployment of its bird deterrents.
Tagged with: syncrude, ducks, tailings ponds, edmonton journal
