Alberta orders cleanup of coal slurry spill

— Photo courtesy MSN News.

The Canadian Press is reporting that the Alberta government ordered the owner of a coal mine to clean up an estimated 670 million litres of waste water that spilled into tributaries of the Athabasca River.

The directive was contained in an environmental protection order to Coal Valley Resources and Sherritt International.

The order comes almost three weeks after an earth berm broke at the Obed Mountain mine near Hinton, allowing coal waste to spill into two creeks that feed the Athabasca River.

Alberta Environment spokeswoman Jessica Potter said the companies have been taking steps to remediate the spill.

Potter said the environmental protection order formalizes the cleanup and gives timelines and deadlines. She said no decision has been made on whether environmental charges will be laid.

The spill on Oct. 31 sent clay, mud, shale and coal particles into Apetowun and Plante creeks.

An Environment Canada database says the spill contained damaging compounds such as arsenic, mercury, cadmium, lead and manganese.

The pollutants have been found to exceed safety levels as far as 40 kilometres downstream of the spill.

The province has advised all downstream communities not to draw water from the river while the slurry floats by.

Farmers have been advised to not let livestock drink from the river.

The spill is now within 180 kilometres from Fort McMurray, but has been dissipating as it travels.

Source: Canadian Press