SUNDRE — For the Johnstons, the signs that all is not the same a year after the oil spill can be found in the wildlife.
“I don’t really know what to say. It’s different,” says Ila Johnston, who has lived all her married life on the farm just downstream from where up to 3,000 barrels of light sour crude oil bubbled into the Red Deer River a year ago.
“The geese for one thing. They’re still flying around in flocks. We haven’t seen a single gosling or duckling.”
Ominously, she remembers a similar situation in 1994 when a natural gas pipeline ruptured in the area.
Husband Wayne, who was born and raised on the farm about eight km north of Sundre, said the family dog Tip hasn’t been the same since the June 7 spill about a kilometre to the north.
“He’s gone from a young dog to an old dog, and he’s gone hyper.”
Their yearling calves also are acting wilder, and even deer in the area don’t seem the same. Ila says a lot of the wildlife look to be skin and bones; inexplicably because there is no shortage of food along the river.
“There’s some awful strange things going on,” says Wayne. “All you have to do is pay attention to the animals. It’s not normal.”
Down at the river, there are no obvious signs of the mess that was created late last spring. The brown film that covered the water and the overpowering stench of hydrocarbons is long gone.
Johnston is troubled by a brown foam that has gathered in a small eddy and scoops it up in a glass jar. He wants to see what it looks like in a few days when it has had a chance to settle, he says.
It doesn’t smell unusual, which may be a good sign. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing either.
The uncertainty that comes with being a neighbour to the oil and gas industry is a constant worry for the couple.
Plains Midstream’s spill is only the latest in a long line of incidents the couple have had to cope with, including a 1994 natural gas leak that killed a dozen calves. In 2008, a Pembina pipeline broke not far from the more recent spill.
As recently as fall 2011, another company’s pipeline carrying processed water to a well site broke three times in three months before it was finally replaced.
“We worry all the time,” said Ila. “We generally don’t get through a year without a pipeline break, either on our property or somewhere next door.”
All of the spills, unexplained foul-smelling whiffs from nearby oil and gas facilities have taken a physical toll, the couple believes.
“I know it’s affected her health and I know it’s affected my health,” Wayne says. Just a few days ago he was in Red Deer’s hospital getting checked for pancreas and liver problems.
Ila also suffers. I’ve got numerous problems. Just pain where there shouldn’t be. Most of them kind of unexplainable.”
Wayne says he turned down a company compensation offer of $10,000 because it required him to release them from any future obligations. What happens if more oil damage is found later then, he asks. He can’t afford to clean it and fears he could lose his land.
Last year’s oil spill put Dennis Overguard in hospital with a heart attack. By the time, he left he had four stents propping up his collapsed arteries. The doctors told him the sickening fumes he inhaled were to blame.
Overguard, 61, was told he should sue. That’s not his style, he says, but some residue of bitterness remains.
“What I figure is whatever goes around, comes around. Hopefully, the guys in charge of Plains will end up on their back getting their hearts operated on and they’ll know what it feels like.”
The thing is, he says, all those on the land, whether they are farming it, drilling it or logging it are neighbours, and should act that way.
“That’s what I told Plains, all I wanted to be was treated humanely. Unfortunately, the humane society doesn’t look after me like they do cattle,” he said with a grim chuckle.
He was given compensation for the 126 days he was out of his home, but not for any of his medical issues, he says.
He’s still extremely susceptible to fumes — even a backdraft of exhaust from his truck can trigger heart pain.
The health of the river is a different matter. Overguard is curious what effect the spring runoff will have. While Plains has done about as much as it can to clean the river and its banks the torrent of spring melt will probably be the real cleaning mechanism for the damage.
“I’ll be really interested to see how much of an oil slick we have in (Gleniffer Lake) after the high water here.”
“I know in the back waters there’s still traces (of oil),” he says.
Despite the damage, the river will bounce back, he believes
“I think so — as long as they don’t do it again.”
Plains Midstream spent tens of millions and employed hundreds last year cleaning up the mess, which was completed by the fall.
A spokesperson could not be reached for an interview. But the company’s most recent update paints an encouraging picture of those efforts.
A detailed inspection at the release site “found no contamination and observed good progress with reclamation of the area.” Further inspections will take place in the late summer or early fall.
No contamination was found at other inspection points either. “The willow stakes from last year were found with new shoots and good vegetation emergence was observed,” says the update, noting regular river inspections will continue.
Regulators plan to return to the river this summer to evaluate the effectiveness of the cleanup operations.
A wildlife and bird survey was conducted in late May and found “wildlife presence observed was typical for this environment.”
Reminders of the spill’s impact are easy to find. A sign posted near the Garrington Bridge over the Red Deer River warns anglers that the river and all tributaries upstream of Gleniffer Lake remains under zero harvest regulations until the impact on fish populations has been assessed .
Until then, only catch and release is allowed.
The results of those fish studies are not expected until fall or early winter. Restrictions were imposed last August, a delay that drew some criticism.
The toll on wildlife was relatively light. About two dozen birds and mammals and 27 fish were found dead. This spring, there have been no other casualties found.
Mountain View County Coun. Paddy Munro said looking at the whole incident in the rear view he remains disappointed.
“I really feel let down. First of all, I think the (Environmental Resources Conservation Board) should have done a better job of monitoring these pipelines.
“It’s not like it’s the first time.”
Plains is now boring its pipeline much deeper under the river to prevent a repeat incident. That should have been done before there was a disaster, says Munro.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com