A hibernating black bear has been euthanized after one of Canada’s largest oil sands operators accidentally bulldozed a bear den near the Kearl mine.The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) confirmed the incident that occurred on December 6 in a weekly update on its web site and that the bear was euthanized by Alberta Fish and Wildlife officials.Imperial has closed off the scene and notified indigenous communities in the area. The AER said it has visited the site and is gathering “information to determine the cause and circumstances that led to the incident and to determine if Imperial followed AER requirements.”.“The AER continues to oversee Imperial’s compliance with the EPO to ensure the regulator’s top priorities of public safety and the protection of the environment,”Alberta Energy Regulator.As such, no enforcement orders have been issued with respect to this specific incident at this time. However, it continues to investigate a pair of tailings pond leaks that occurred last winter that resulted in environmental protection orders and a requirement for testing adjacent streams and wetlands for potentially toxic water contamination.And in that regard, AER inspectors issued a ‘notice of non-compliance’ the day before the bear incident, on December 5, in relation to a missed wildlife sweep on a portion of a buffer area that uncovered two undiscovered beaver dams in the water sampling region about 50 metres outside the known seep areas covered under the order.The AER completed a site inspection and determined there was no beaver activity in the vicinity of the dams. It was a good thing; based on sampling results, Imperial determined the water quality to be “below the surface water quality objectives for wildlife.” In an e-mailed statement to the CBC, company spokespeople said the company contracts a “third-party, indigenous-owned company” to do wildlife sweeps to identify various wildlife habitats including bird nests, beaver dams and presumably bear dens..As part of the ongoing enforcement orders, Imperial has completed 34 of 213 planned water monitoring wells in the area and is required to perform weekly inspections of fenced-off wildlife areas.Separate from that program, the AER said it conducted sampling of two standing water bodies adjacent the tailings areas but found no “discernible” presence of industrial wastewater. “The AER continues to oversee Imperial’s compliance with the EPO to ensure the regulator’s top priorities of public safety and the protection of the environment,” it said.It’s yet another blow to Imperial’s environmental credentials after both the company and AER officials were summoned to appear before a Parliamentary committee in April after they failed to notify First Nations for more than nine months of the spill, which leaked more than 5.3 million litres — about two Olympic sized swimming pools — from a containment pond.At the hearing, Green Party leader Elizabeth May infamously asked Imperial CEO Brad Corson: “How do you sleep at night?”
A hibernating black bear has been euthanized after one of Canada’s largest oil sands operators accidentally bulldozed a bear den near the Kearl mine.The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) confirmed the incident that occurred on December 6 in a weekly update on its web site and that the bear was euthanized by Alberta Fish and Wildlife officials.Imperial has closed off the scene and notified indigenous communities in the area. The AER said it has visited the site and is gathering “information to determine the cause and circumstances that led to the incident and to determine if Imperial followed AER requirements.”.“The AER continues to oversee Imperial’s compliance with the EPO to ensure the regulator’s top priorities of public safety and the protection of the environment,”Alberta Energy Regulator.As such, no enforcement orders have been issued with respect to this specific incident at this time. However, it continues to investigate a pair of tailings pond leaks that occurred last winter that resulted in environmental protection orders and a requirement for testing adjacent streams and wetlands for potentially toxic water contamination.And in that regard, AER inspectors issued a ‘notice of non-compliance’ the day before the bear incident, on December 5, in relation to a missed wildlife sweep on a portion of a buffer area that uncovered two undiscovered beaver dams in the water sampling region about 50 metres outside the known seep areas covered under the order.The AER completed a site inspection and determined there was no beaver activity in the vicinity of the dams. It was a good thing; based on sampling results, Imperial determined the water quality to be “below the surface water quality objectives for wildlife.” In an e-mailed statement to the CBC, company spokespeople said the company contracts a “third-party, indigenous-owned company” to do wildlife sweeps to identify various wildlife habitats including bird nests, beaver dams and presumably bear dens..As part of the ongoing enforcement orders, Imperial has completed 34 of 213 planned water monitoring wells in the area and is required to perform weekly inspections of fenced-off wildlife areas.Separate from that program, the AER said it conducted sampling of two standing water bodies adjacent the tailings areas but found no “discernible” presence of industrial wastewater. “The AER continues to oversee Imperial’s compliance with the EPO to ensure the regulator’s top priorities of public safety and the protection of the environment,” it said.It’s yet another blow to Imperial’s environmental credentials after both the company and AER officials were summoned to appear before a Parliamentary committee in April after they failed to notify First Nations for more than nine months of the spill, which leaked more than 5.3 million litres — about two Olympic sized swimming pools — from a containment pond.At the hearing, Green Party leader Elizabeth May infamously asked Imperial CEO Brad Corson: “How do you sleep at night?”
