Alberta energy officials say a spill of runoff from a containment pond at Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills oilsands site may have lasted more than a year.
They said on Oct. 9, the energy company reported an “unplanned release” of approximately 662 cubic meters from the pond adjacent to Fort Hills into the Athabasca River.
However, on November 24, Suncor informed the regulator that the spill was likely much larger than initially reported.
“Further investigation into this matter indicated that the unforeseen release volume could be closer to 10,000 cubic meters,” the regulator said in a new statement, released Friday. Suncor also informed authorities that the unplanned release may have been in progress since June 2022 and that it believes the cause of the release is likely a faulty valve. »
Suncor took water quality samples from the pond, the results of which indicated that the water released into the river was “meeting the discharge criteria for spills,” authorities said.
The pond from which the water was released “is not related to mining, extraction or tailings processes, and contains water from precipitation and snowmelt,” they said. precise.
Suncor also assured Saturday that the water posed no threat.
“This water does not come into contact with any processes on our site,” Suncor spokesperson Jessica Depencier said in an emailed statement.
She said tests conducted in 2022 and 2023 showed that water from the containment basin met regulatory criteria for discharge, and that Suncor has “no evidence to indicate that any water that may have been discharged would not have not meet regulatory requirements.
Authorities said they visited the site and found that the valve was not currently leaking, adding that they would review sampling data from June 2022 to November 2023.
Ms Depencier said the release was “potentially due to the fact that a valve which controls the flow of water from the pond to the river was not completely closed”. The company confirmed that the valve was completely closed on October 9.
She said Suncor plans to “implement automated alarms to provide early awareness of changes in operating conditions.”
Suncor and the regulator have informed communities and stakeholders in the region, authorities said. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has also been informed of the situation.