By Liam Verster

No suspect found in oil spill incident

The investigation into the Sportsplex Pond oil spill is now closed

Jan 20, 2020 | 2:25 PM

The investigation into the hydrocarbon spill at the Crosslink County Sportsplex Pond has wrapped up, with no culprit found.

On May 23, 2019, members of the public reported to the County of Grande Prairie that an oily residue with a rainbow sheen was on the surface of the Sportsplex Pond. An investigation into the incident found the residue was industrial oil, that is believed to had been intentionally released in a storm water drain. The oil had then made its way into the pond, which acts as a storm water overflow, as well as a wildlife habitat and a stocked fishing pond for public use.

An investigation by the County of Grande Prairie and Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) found the volume of pollutants in the pond was estimated at five cubic metres of hydrocarbon, and contamination and remediation efforts were put into place.

After nearly two months of remediation and clean-up efforts, the pond and trails were re-opened.

The spill was believed to have been intentional, and Dan Lemieux, Community Services Director with the County of Grande Prairie, says AEP and the County worked together to find a culprit.

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“We canvassed the local business to see if there were, perhaps, security footage that could help them in the investigation. We provided them with all that information.”

However, no culprit was ever found, and the case has been closed, barring some new evidence being brought forward.

On Monday, January 20, Lemieux brought a final report on the spill before County Council. The report shows a full analysis has been done to show what could be done better in the case of similar spills in the future.

“We’ve drafted a standard operating procedure. What we can do is make sure that we have a good response program. We can’t prevent people from dumping, but when we are made aware, we need to have a quick response. The quicker the response, the quicker you start remediation, the lower the cost.”

The report also shows that the County had to spend $184,125 in remediation and clean-up efforts, and Lemieux says they will likely not be able to recover that money, as no culprit has been found.

Lemieux says it’s frustrating that someone would spill this oil, which he believes was done intentionally, and that it caused not only a financial cost, but also an environmental cost.

The spill did not cause any known impact to the health of the animal or aquatic life of the pond, which now has strict catch and release rules for fishing.