B.C. oil spill cleanup triggers debate

Not enough has been done to clean up the Squamish River estuary following a bunker oil spill lastAugust in the nearby harbour, says a local environmental group.

About 29,000 litres of bunker fuel oil leaked from a freighter after it ran into a pier near Squamish, creating an oil slick nearly a kilometre long.

Initial cleanup efforts removed much of the fuel from the water's surface,but Edith Tobe, the executive director of the Squamish River Watershed Society, said there are still several hectares of tidal marshland contaminated with oil.

"As the tide goes in and out you'll see these long oil slicks and tar balls still coming out of the ground."

She said Gearbulk, the ship's owner, didn't do enough to remove all the oil, and wants the cleanup crew to return.

But the marine biologist managing the cleanup for Gearbulk disagrees. Greg Challenger said that despite appearances, keeping out of the sensitive wetlands may be the best long-term solution.

"When you get a lot of foot traffic and lot of heavy equipment, you can actually force oil into the sediment. As soon as you start pushing it down, then it will remain for a much longer period of time."

Challenger said that ultimately sunlight, bacteria and the sea will break down the oil that remains.However, there is no indication how long that could take.