[Keep following this story; apparently it may also be Suncor and hundreds more than this article suggests...]
At least 125 ducks die in latest Syncrude incident
By Scott Haggett And Jeffrey Jones –
Tue Oct 26, 2010
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – About 125 ducks had to be euthanized after landing on a toxic waste pond owned by Syncrude Canada Ltd, just three days after the oil sands producer was penalized C$3 million for a similar incident two years ago that killed 1,600 waterfowl.
In a statement posted on its website, Syncrude said about 200 birds landed on its Mildred Lake tailings pond in the northern Alberta oil sands on Monday night and the majority had to be euthanized after becoming fouled by tar-like bitumen floating on the surface of the pond. The health of the remaining birds is still being assessed.
The company, one Canada's largest oil sands producers, said its bird deterrent system was operating but said the birds may have been forced down by a freezing-rain storm.
"They appeared to be exhausted and unable to fly," Syncrude said. "Birds that landed on roads and parking lots were approachable, strengthening the opinion that fatigue forced them to land."
The landings were reported to Alberta's environment department by Syncrude.
The department said that its staff were on site to ensure deterrents are in place and to keep other waterfowl from landing on the tailings pond.
Last week, Syncrude was fined C$3 million for a 2008 event in which more than 1,600 ducks died after landing on a tailings pond at Syncrude's Aurora mine site. The incident launched an international campaign by environmental groups critical of oil sands development and tarnished Alberta's reputation.
"I cannot express how disappointed and frustrated I am that this incident occurred," Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner said in a statement. "Albertans deserve answers to why this happened again."
Oil sand operators are required to have systems in place to deter birds from landing on their tailings ponds, which are filled with wastewater, clay, heavy metals and residual oil, byproducts of the oil sands extraction process.
Simon Dyer, oil sands program director at the Pembina Institute, an Alberta-based environmental think tank, said the incident shows that government and regulators are not doing enough to halt the spread of toxic waste from the oil sands extraction process.
The group has been a harsh critic of recent regulatory approvals of tailings plans that fall short of newly tightened rules, at least in the early years of operation.
"The first incident two years ago was not an isolated incident, so even with the best mitigation you can get, the fact that we have these waste lagoons on the landscape means you're still going to see incidents like that," Dyer said
Syncrude officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Syncrude's partners include Canadian Oil Sands Trust, Imperial Oil Ltd, Suncor Energy Inc, Sinopec Corp, Nexen Inc, JX Holdings Inc unit Mocal Energy and Murphy Oil Co.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101026/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_syncrude_duck...
