Suncor Energy (SU.TO) released 5,900 cubic meters (208,400 cubic feet) of water with twice the permitted suspended particles from a sedimentation pond at its Fort Hills oil sands operation in northern Alberta.
Suncor reported the April 16 release to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) because the water’s total suspended solids—mud—exceeded regulations.
Suncor representative Erin Rees said the water came from a sedimentation basin, not a tailings pond.
After Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) said in February that tailings ponds at its Kearl facility had been seeping for months and another spill spilled 5,300 cubic meters of process water in late January, oil sands businesses are under scrutiny for how they handle water. Bitumen tailings are contaminated water and waste.
“This is not a tailings pond, but a water runoff pond that collects and discharges runoff into Fort Creek… in line with regulatory approvals,” Rees added.
The water enters Fort Creek 800 meters upstream of the Athabasca River, the oil sands’ major waterway.
The AER said Suncor is analyzing water quality tests to determine why the Athabasca leak exceeded the legal limit for total suspended solids.
“Suncor have contacted indigenous communities in the area and we have followed-up with our own communication,” the AER said in an email.
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