Imperial Oil reveals some gasoline got past containment berm after Sydney spill

People living in a residential neighbourhood in Sydney, N.S., were surprised on Monday after Imperial Oil revealed a large gasoline spill had gone farther than the company has previously told the public.

About 600,000 litres of gas drained out of a storage tank and into an earthen containment berm on July 8 after a worker accidentally punctured a tank.

The incident sparked a neighbourhood evacuation in Sydney's North End and electricity to the area was cut to avoid a fire, which resulted in 48 million litres of untreated wastewater going directly into Sydney harbour from the nearby sewage treatment plant.

At a meeting on Monday night, company officials insisted the clay-lined containment berm worked, but an hour and a half into the session one official said about 3,000 litres of gas got past the berm.

Grace Arsenault, a North End resident and organizer of the meeting, said people should have been told sooner.

"I really feel disappointed that we weren't made aware of that, because to me, that does destroy credibility, when somebody's not up front right away and we're left just dangling around, not being in the loop," she said. "All of us have our suspicions that there's a lot more contamination and pollution on that site than is let on."

Imperial's Atlantic and Quebec area manager Sebastien Bergeron said Nova Scotia's Environment Department was notified a few days after the spill.

The company has since instituted several additional safeguards at the fuel storage facility and is working to revise its emergency response plans, Bergeron said.

"Obviously, we're taking this very seriously and that's why we're working with the right organizations to do the right assessment and understand moving forward how we also make sure this will not happen again," he said.

About 35 residents attended the meeting at the Eltuek Arts Centre to ask the company questions.

Imperial officials said the last incident at the tank farm occurred in 1975, when a truck driver fell and hurt his hand.

They also said they wanted to be as transparent as possible and promised to work with residents and municipal and other emergency services to improve safety at the facility.

Arsenault said she is hopeful the company will live up to its promises, but said she wonders why residents were not told about the spilled gas getting past the containment berm and what else they are not being told.

'I was pretty shocked'

"I was pretty shocked by that, because we were told everything was contained, there was no contamination, there's nothing to worry about," she said.

"We're not rocket scientists, but we're not the village idiot, either. We understand that there's got to be contamination."

On Friday, a spokesperson for Nova Scotia's Environment Department said officials are still investigating the spill.

The tank farm receives gasoline, diesel and home heating oil by ship from Sydney harbour and stores it in tanks, so trucks can pick up fuel and deliver it to customers, including local gas stations.

On the day of the spill, facility supervisor Adam MacDonald said the facility was completely evacuated and specialized staff and equipment were being brought in from Dartmouth, about 400 kilometres away.

The company later said personnel and equipment were also brought in from other parts of the country.

While waiting, Cape Breton Regional Municipality's fire department arranged for a special truck with foam designed to cover fuel spills to contain vapours and keep them from igniting to come from JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport.

CBRM Mayor Amanda McDougall said on Monday night that it was not easy to convince the airport to let one of its two trucks travel into Sydney.

'Good faith' money offered

Imperial officials said they are considering ways to quickly add firefighting foam, equipment and training for staff at the Sydney facility.

They also said they are also willing to discuss the cost of emergency response with CBRM officials.

Some people booked hotel rooms and went out for supper during the evacuation period, not knowing if they'd be able to return to their homes that evening.

But by 6 p.m., officials said residents could return.

Imperial is now offering them a $250 "good faith" payment for their inconvenience.

Company officials said they are willing to consider higher compensation if a resident has receipts.

MORE TOP STORIES