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Andrew Van Oosten and his friends were hoping to go fishingSaturday but were told by Alberta Environment officials to stayaway from the water. I was going to go fishing but they said, No, you re notallowed, he said as huddled with his friends underneath a tarpat his campsite near the Gleniffer reservoir. You are not allowed to go near the water because it (oil) iswashing up on shore. I hope it just passes by in a week or two. Out on the lake that provides the water supply for the City of RedDeer and other communities downstream from Thursday s spill, crewswere busy spreading booms across the surface to skim away any sourcrude. Plains Midstream Canada estimates as much as 475,000 litres of oilspilled and then leaked into the river. The company says the oilspilled into Jackson Creek near the community of Sundre, about 100kilometres from Red Deer. In a news release Saturday, the company said the crude oil has beencontained within two booms it placed on the Gleniffer Reservoir,and that an additional boom was being positioned on the west end ofthe reservoir to expedite the cleanup. We deeply regret any impact this incident may have on localresidents, the news release stated. Randy Westergaard of the Gleniffer Lake Resort is doing his best todeal calmly with a calamity that came as residents prepare for thesummer season. The marina has been closed until further notice ashave a number of campsites in the area. The resort includes 750 recreation lots and permanent homespurchased by people who love to go boating, fish, or just enjoy theclean air and pretty views. Mr. Westergaard credits the company for moving quickly to deal withthe mess, including trucking in drinking water to the resort. All I can say is that Plains Midstream stepped up to the plateimmediately and as far as I can see are doing everything in theirpower, he said. Who is to blame? The government are the ones who gave themapproval in the first place. It s unfortunate it had to happen. Alberta Premier Alison Redford assured Albertans on Saturday thatthe co-ordination to deal with the spill has been moving quickly. There was some concern that if the weather was difficult todaythat there might be a challenge, Ms. Redford told reporters inEdmonton, immediately after speaking at the city s gay pridefestival. My understanding is the weather hasn t impacted it andeverything is on course. We re seeing some good containment. Ms. Redford has said this latest oil spill has raised questionsabout how oil pipelines are monitored and regulated. She has promised a full investigation and said if there are safetyshortfalls the government will make changes. This is the second recent serious spill for Plains Midstream. InApril of last year a company pipeline in northwestern Albertaruptured, leaking more than 4.5 million litres of oil. Just lastweek the company issued a release, showing clean up efforts nearthe spill are almost complete. The Red Deer River spill comes at a time when Alberta-basedpipelines such as Keystone XL in the proposed Northern gatewaypipeline to the B.C. are under increasing public scrutiny. Ms. Redford insisted on Saturday that the spills are not the norm. It s actually an exception, if you think that we have hundredsof thousands of kilometres of pipelines across this province. Therehas been a leak and it has been contained, Ms. Redford said. We have pipelines that criss-cross this province that are intactand work. Between the spill site and the Dickson dam, Plains Midstream isbuilding a base of operations headquarters to stage and direct thecleanup effort that is to come. On Saturday, a long line of transport trucks dropped off suppliesat the camp as cranes and bulldozers laid down prefabricatedflooring on the wet ground. Office trailers were being set up andclean-up equipment was being stockpiled as a helicopter buzzedoverhead. A company officials said there is no official time line on when theclean up is expected to be complete on the fast moving river, whichhas been swollen in recent days by heavy rain. Closer to Sundre, within a few kilometres of the breached pipeline,a film of black ooze coats grass along the remote shoreline of theriver. In pools and puddles away from the main river the oil haspooled, discolouring the water. Back at Mr. Van Oosten s campsite he and his friends sit around afire, chatting and drinking beer. I hope to get fishing soon, he says. More Related to this Story Globe Editorial Mulcair is right that Alberta must respect the environment Politics Ottawa's environmental-review overhaul hits tough hurdles. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Seat Slide , China Auto Seat Slide for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Manual Recliner.
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