Tag Archives: Contaminated water

Energy

One oil and gas site was ‘stinky,’ another was ‘gurgling.’ B.C. officials gave them a pass anyway

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By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

“Serious deficiency.” “Very stinky.” “Leakage.” “A hazard.”

Those are some of the ways BC Energy Regulator officials described oil and gas sites when they documented apparent environmental infractions during routine inspections, according to internal documents. 

The regulator, a provincial government agency, is largely funded by the oil and gas industry and charged with managing oil and gas activities across the province. 

The Narwhal and the Investigative Journalism Foundation identified more than 1,000 instances when inspectors documented apparent infractions yet gave the sites in question a passing grade, according to more than 40,000 records released through freedom of information legislation. The records reveal a widespread pattern: the B.C. government is failing to ensure oil and gas companies comply with regulations designed to protect ecosystems and human health and safety. 

Continue reading One oil and gas site was ‘stinky,’ another was ‘gurgling.’ B.C. officials gave them a pass anyway →
Environment

Deep Water Recovery executives say shipbreaking operations aren’t polluting Union Bay

By Madeline Dunnett, The Discourse,  Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On a stormy day at the end of September, the vessels at Deep Water Recovery’s site in Union Bay were being pummelled with rain. Robert Bohn Senior, one of the company owners, and operations manager Mark Jurisich were clad in high-visibility clothing and gumboots.

The two men were leading myself and The Discourse Nanaimo reporter, Mick Sweetman, on a tour of the property. It was the first time The Discourse was offered a visit to the site, though we have been reporting on the shipbreaking situation in Union Bay since October 2023.

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Energy

‘Hard to believe it’s real’: B.C.’s energy regulator repeatedly gave Coastal GasLink a pass on alleged environmental infractions

Editor’s note: Another account of how government regulators are not equipped to do their job and the resulting lack of oversight may be putting the public at risk.

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

When officials from the BC Energy Regulator travelled to Wet’suwet’en territory in September 2022, they were planning a routine inspection of a fish-bearing stream.

Two years had passed since Coastal GasLink completed installation of a section of pipeline through the stream, a tributary of Tchesinkut Creek, near the community of Burns Lake in northwest B.C.

They discovered Coastal GasLink had never finished restoring the waterway and, for two years, pipeline construction had been impacting fish habitat. It was a mess. 

Continue reading ‘Hard to believe it’s real’: B.C.’s energy regulator repeatedly gave Coastal GasLink a pass on alleged environmental infractions →
Justice

Site C contractor fined $1.1 million for illegal dumping

Editor’s Note: An alarming story about a businesses actins and environmental protections.

By Tom Summer, Alaska Highway News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Site C contractor Peace River Hydro Partners will pay a $1.1 million fine after pleading guilty in Fort St. John Provincial Court on July 31 to one charge of depositing a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish.

In direct contravention of the federal Fisheries Act, the charge stems from an investigation led by Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers into the discharge of 3,300 cubic metres of contaminated drainage water into the Peace River on September 9 and 10 in 2018.

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Energy, Environment

half a billion tax-payer dollars to clean-up BC’s contaminated sites

Carl Meyer, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

British Columbia recorded a liability of over half a billion dollars for the estimated cost of cleaning up contaminated sites in the province, including orphan oil and gas wells.

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