Oil spill in Châteauguay : The circumstances remain unclear

Teams from the Quebec Ministry of the Environment carried out pumping and excavation work in Châteauguay's Industrial Park this week to recover petroleum products in a ditch. The causes and circumstances surrounding the spill remain unclear and are under investigation.

Translation Amanda Bennett

According to the Ministry of the Environment, "the spill occurred on February 1 from a tanker belonging to La Pétrolière N&R Sol", explained Ghizlane Behdaoui, regional spokesperson for the Ministry. She was unable to say how much material had been spilled so far.

Pumping in front of 2325 Ford Boulevard in Châteauguay. (Photo : Le Soleil - Valérie Lessard)

On February 28, Ms. Behdaoui told the newspaper that Urgence-Environnement had not been notified of the February 1 spill by the Châteauguay fire service when it responded to the incident. According to the City of Châteauguay, the link between the February 1 incident and the current contamination has yet to be established.

"February 1 was a routine incident for the fire service. It wasn't a spill like this," said Châteauguay mayor Eric Allard in an interview. In fact, we're trying to understand what happened between February 1 and when it was raised on our side on February 12."

On February 1, Châteauguay police and fire services were called to 2325 Ford Boulevard by the owner of the property who wanted the tanker in question towed away, the city said in a press release. This is also the address of La Pétrolière N&R Sol, which does not own the site.

"At the time, the tanker was exhibiting a limited loss of liquid. Firefighters inspected the site and noted that the leak was limited and contained, and that there was no spread of contamination on the site, or in the storm sewer or ditch," the city said. Mr. Allard added in an interview that the fire brigade "knocked on the tanker to see if there was anything inside and it was empty".

The owner of the tanker then undertook "to properly dispose of the few litres recovered in sealed containers and then to have his truck towed away", says the city.

Eleven days later, Urgence-Environnement was informed of a spill by Environment Canada. The latter had been alerted by the community of Kahnawake, which had noticed the presence of fuel in a ditch on their territory on 9 February.

"When Urgence-Environnement services intervened [on 12 February], they found that the tanker had been removed from the site, but traces of petroleum products were found on the site and in a nearby ditch," explained Ms. Behdaoui. Since then, a mobile coordination post, the specialized airborne laboratory and the environmental analysis laboratory have been deployed to the site, she added.

The Mayor of Châteauguay assured us that his municipality is working with the various authorities involved in the case, and described the situation as "shocking and terrible for both our residents and those of Kahnawake".

Owner deceased

The owner of the tanker in question died suddenly on the weekend of February 24, the city announced, which has made "the investigation more complicated". Le Soleil de Châteauguay also tried to contact the company. However, the telephone numbers available on the web are no longer in service.

Kahnawake Mobilisation

Although diesel has also been found in the Suzanne River in Kahnawake, just off Ford Boulevard, the Ministry of the Environment cannot make a link between the two for the time being. "The information available to the department does not allow us to confirm whether the two events are related, and investigations are continuing," said the spokeswoman.

In Kahnawake, mobilisation continued last week in an attempt to contain the contamination on its territory as much as possible. On February 27, volunteers helped the Kahnawake Environmental Protection Bureau prepare 600 sandbags behind 256 Industriel Boulevard [on the Kahnawake side] to solidify the containment dams. "The reason we're mobilising so quickly is because the weather is getting milder and we'll be getting rain soon," explained Tyler Moulton, Environmental Projects Coordinator at the Kahnawake Environmental Protection Office, who was on site on Wednesday.

He is concerned that the rise in water levels in the ditches will reduce the effectiveness of measures to contain the petroleum product. He welcomed the fact that excavation was about to begin on the Châteauguay side. "We appreciate it because it limits the amount of material that continues to come this way. But it's now February 25. It will have taken three and a half weeks for such measures to be taken," he said.

The Ministry says it is ensuring "that the necessary measures to ensure public safety and protect the environment are put in place and does not rule out any recourse for a return to compliance".