Alberta couple devastated by oil spill on their property

An Alberta couple is devastated and in shock after their property was soaked with oil from a pipeline spill this week that is believed to have poured up to 475,000 litres of crude into a Red Deer River tributary.

Gord and Bonnie Johnston have deserted their 23-hectare rural property and are now living on credit cards and wondering what to do next.

"There's not words to describe it and I don't understand how this can happen with today's technology," a visibly shaken Gord Johnston told CTV's Question Period Sunday.

"There are oil pools on the water, there's a sheen and it's all the through the grasses, the brush and the water forced it up and through everything," he said from his property in Sundre, about 100 kilometres southwest of Red Deer.

"How do you deal with that? How do you clean that up? You can't."

Plains Midstream Canada said between 1,000 and 3,000 litres of oil spilled and then leaked into Jackson Creek, which flows into the Red Deer River, near Sundre.

The company said Sunday afternoon the swollen river carried the oil into the Gleniffer Reservoir, where it has been contained at the western edge by two booms.

Gleniffer Lake is the source for the City of Red Deer's water supply and is also a popular spot for boating and fishing. However, officials with Alberta Environment have warned residents to stay clear of the water.

Stephen Bart, vice president of crude oil operations with Plains Midstream, said the booms have contained the oil to the western tip of the reservoir.

"Our goal, obviously, is to preserve the water quality and drinking water quality and minimize the impact to wildlife, and get the spill cleaned up and the water and land restored as quickly as possible," Bart told reporters on Sunday.

Leslie Chivers, spokesperson for the City of Red Deer, said no oil has been detected in the city's water supply. Chivers told CTV News Channel that the city can shut off its intake from the Red Deer River and draw treated water from a municipal reservoir should the need arise.

Bart said the spill could have been worse had oil been flowing through the pipeline at the time of the leak.

He also said officials are on the lookout for wildlife affected by the spill. They are carrying noise devices to scare birds away from afflicted areas.

Despite the company's optimistic tone, the Johnstons believe their health will be adversely affected if they return to live on the land they once called home.

"I believe my property is done, like this stuff is full of all kinds of toxins and carcinogens, how can my kids, my grandkids . . . how can we come back to this and live here and swim, fish and boat," Gord Johnston said.

"Where are we going to be in five years? Are we even going to be alive if we stay? I highly don't think so," he said as oil-coated rushes behind him wavered in a breeze, but looked more like a row of automobile dipsticks.

He doesn't know much about maintenance on the pipeline, but Johnston said he's positive it had a similar problem a few years ago.

"We flew directly to the spot we figured it was and we could see it bubbling out of the Red Deer River," he said.

Bonnie Johnston said she's devastated by the spill and said it's likely she and her husband are still in shock.

"I don't think we've come to truly understand what this is going to do to us," she said.

Gord Johnston said the company promised security for his property the night of the spill after they decided to leave, but that help never arrived.

"As you can see around there is no security and there's been a barrage of people, which is good," he said.

"I'm glad people do come down to see this because I want them to see it and I want everybody to see that you shouldn't have to go through this," Gord Johnston said.

"This is my world here. I didn't break it, they broke it."

Alberta Premier Alison Redford assured Albertans on Saturday that there will be a full investigation into the leak, and said if there are safety shortfalls the government will make changes. She insisted that spills are not the norm.

But for the Johnstons, that assurance comes too late.

"They come into my shop, my place, my world, my ecosystem and they destroyed it and ruined it," he said.

"They gotta do something."

CTV Edmonton's Sean Amato reported Sunday that company officials would not publicly answer questions about compensation.

Original Article
Source: CTV
Author: John Size