It鈥檚 been almost three months since a potentially disastrous oil spill resulted from a landslide that came down above the Fraser River in Herrling channel, near Hope.
First Nations leaders are going public with their concerns in an attempt to spur immediate action at the spill site.
The landslide caused by heavy rains was reported to CN on Dec. 6. The slide caused an oil tank owned by a paving company to tumble down the slope, spilling an estimated 2,000 litres of waste oil.
The oil tank owned by Key-West Asphalt had a 20,000-litre capacity.
First Nations leadership in the area want provincial and federal agencies to take decisive action before the oil reaches the river.
Overall the spill response to date has been 鈥渟low and sloppy鈥� and the inaction is a 鈥渃lear demonstration of regulatory failure鈥� mostly at the provincial level, said Tribal Chief Tyrone McNeil, president of the St贸:l艒 Tribal Council.
The emergency remediation finally obtained authorizations and got underway in early February. But when it was discovered the required geotechnical reports were not filed, a stop-work order was imposed by WorkSafe BC, causing the cleanup effort to be put on hold.
Spokesperson Ricky Dhatt of Key-West Environmental was briefly reached by phone, and he said that the oil tank in question was almost empty at the time of the spill, and that the waste oil 鈥渨as not going into the water.鈥�
But Indigenous leaders said the urgency arising right now is because spring freshet is on its way, and they want the work to resume. They also want the debris which included 鈥渕icroplastics鈥� to be removed since it鈥檚 a threat to the best sturgeon habitat and spawning grounds on the entire Fraser River.
They鈥檝e been on conference calls, and fired off letters, and have toured the site.
The waste oil is on the upstream side of the CN right-of-way, pooling in a ditch by a rail bed.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pretty confident that the oil has seeped into the ground, and is likely moving toward the river,鈥� McNeil said.
They want test wells dug in to confirm but they need CN approval to do so.
As the lead agency on the oil spill, the B.C. Ministry of the Environment was asked by The Chilliwack Progress when the remediation work will resume, or if the province would take over the remediation process due to the delays.
Ministry officials in an emailed response clarified that MOE鈥檚 role is to: 鈥渇ollow-up on incidents, ensuring the public and our communities are safe, and environmental remediation is completed.鈥�
鈥淏ritish Columbians expect swift action to protect the environment when spills and landslides occur,鈥� according to emailed statement from MOE officials. 鈥淭his is why we are holding Key-West Asphalt accountable for cleaning up waste oil that fell during a landslide.鈥�
There is no threat to public safety from the spill, and in this case, Key-West Asphalt 鈥渨as responsible for the incident,鈥� ministry officials confirmed, and that includes management, and environmental restoration of the area.
鈥淜ey-West is working with their contracted geo-techs to remedy WorkSafe concerns and deficiencies. It is expected that on-site work will resume soon,鈥� the MOE statement said.
The exact date is not known.
鈥淓verything about the recovery has been slow and sloppy,鈥� said McNeil. 鈥淚 am astounded that DFO is allowing pickups, gravel trucks and machinery to travel through prime sturgeon spawning habitat willy nilly.鈥�
McNeil said as soon as it was safe to start the work, he put in a request that DFO place straw bales or other mitigation methods on the ground to soak up the oil. He said 鈥渟wamp mats鈥� would help to create a path to minimize harm to the habitat before the equipment rolled in.
But that request not accommodated by DFO officials.
The lack of speedy remediation, and accountability by regulators prompted the Tiy鈥檛 Tribe to declare a state of emergency, with the Pilalt Tribe in support, and have asked the province to take over the site remediation, by invoking Section 87/88, of the Environmental Management Act, McNeil said.
There has been a total lack of cohesion in the response by the agencies.
鈥淚鈥檓 really frustrated about the inability for the Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Environment, Transport Canada or DFO to compel activities,鈥� McNeil said.
Seabird Island Chief James Harris said on the conference call that the oil spill site is directly across the river from his community near Agassiz.
鈥淲hen the spill happened it wasn鈥檛 even reported until CN came across it,鈥� Harris said.
And since then the spill response has been 鈥減ushed aside,鈥� instead of being made a priority.
鈥淚t should have been a big concern,鈥� Chief Harris said.
Skwah First Nation councillor Eddie Gardner said the absence of an effective response all this time has raised 鈥渟erious accountability鈥� questions, especially with the spring freshet just around the corner.
It needs to be seen as an emergency given the valuable fish habitat that鈥檚 been put at risk.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a state of emergency ever since this spill happened, because we鈥檙e all concerned about taking care of our relatives. We consider our salmon and sturgeon our relatives.鈥�
Seabird First Nation councillor Sally Hope said Fraser sturgeon should ultimately be recommended for listing under the federal Species At Risk Act, especially since there has been a 鈥渟elf-imposed moratorium鈥� by the St贸:l艒 fishers who would have traditionally harvested sturgeon for traditional medicines.
The local leaders have been increasing the pressure on this file since January.
When the remediation finally got underway in early February, only to be shut down for lack of a geotechnical report, it raised their ire.
鈥淣ow it鈥檚 time for action,鈥� Hope said. 鈥淲e want to see some action on their part, and we want it quick.鈥�
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