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MONTREAL — An oil spill that happened more than a week ago in Sept-Îles might be far more serious than first reported.
Quebec Environment Minister Yves-François Blanchet visited the area Sunday while cleanup crews tried to contain a large slick before tides and winds take the oil out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
While Blanchet urged a more “aggressive approach” to preventing oil spills during his visit, local environmental groups worried about damage to aquatic life in Sept-Îles Bay and beyond.
Overnight on Aug. 31, bunker oil was spilled near a shipping operation of an iron ore pellet plant operated by Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. at Pointe Noire. While the “source of the incident” is under control, investigation into the cause of the incident is ongoing, the company said Sunday.
Some media reports have pointed to a botched reservoir transfer as being at the heart of the problem. Environment Quebec has said that about 450,000 litres of bunker oil were spilled.
The focus is on how much of the spilled oil has been retained and how much has escaped the retention basin or avoided containment altogether. Initial reports from the Environment Department put the amount of oil escaped at about 1,000 litres. By Sunday, that estimate had climbed to 5,000 litres.
There is widespread concern about aquatic life in the bay, salt marches and birds. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has barred all commercial and recreation fishing in the bay.
The Société d’intervention maritime est du Canada (SIMEC) is leading the containment and rehabilitation process. Federal and provincial environment personnel are on site.
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