Images submitted to court show an overhead view of the bridge over Highway 21 and oil slicks in the North Saskatchewan River. (submitted/Saskatchewan Courts)

By Tyler Marr

OIL SPILL

Husky to pay $3.82M in penalties after guilty plea in 2016 oil spill

Jun 12, 2019 | 3:26 PM

A judge has accepted a joint submission that will see Husky Oil Operations pay $3.82 million in fines for charges stemming from a 2016 oil spill near Maidstone.

The company pleaded guilty to three environmental charges in Lloydminster Provincial Court Wednesday morning.

The federal Crown sought a $2.5 million fine and $200,000 to fund fish and bird conservation projects in the area. Provincial Crown prosecutors wanted a further $1.2 million in fines, $800,000 for the environmental charge on top of $320,000 for a contaminated site fund.

The company was facing 10 charges, one provincially and nine federally. Seven were withdrawn by the Crown.

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Judge Lorna Dyck weighed several factors in her decision, such as deterrence, seriousness and culpability. She told the court Husky had clearly accepted responsibility for the spill and willingness to change and prevent future similar incidents.

She noted the company responded prudently once it finally detected the leak, saying Husky acted “quickly and properly.”

An investigation found the pipeline failed as a result of mechanical cracking in a buckle in the line, caused by ground movement on the slope of the river valley. (submitted/Saskatchewan Courts)

In July 2016, a pipeline broke and sent roughly 40 per cent of 225,000 litres of diluted heavy oil from a pipeline into the North Saskatchewan River, affecting water intakes in the cities of North Battleford, Prince Albert and Melfort.

In March 2018, the province announced it laid one charge against the Calgary-based oil and gas producer under the Environmental Management and Protection Act. Earlier that month, Environment and Climate Change Canada laid nine charges against Husky, eight under the federal Fisheries Act and one under the Migratory Birds Convention Act (MBCA).

Guilty pleas were entered on the provincial charge and one under the Fisheries Act and MBCA.

Crown prosecutor Matthew Miazga said the file is the most complicated he had ever worked on and the spill was the “most significant [environmental] offence” in Saskatchewan’s history.

While he commended Husky for taking action after the spill, said if the company had chosen to turn off the pipeline on the afternoon of July 20, 2016, much of this could have been avoided and believes this will act as lesson, but some incidents are unavoidable.

“The cost, the prosection, the investigation,” he said. “I think the company is going to want to avoid all of that and I think the steps they put into place … would suggest they have taken steps to do what they can to avoid this in the future.”

A lawyer for Husky said during court the company has put in place policy and practice changes in the wake of the spill.

“We do understand there are people who think we could have done better,” Duane Rae, vice president of pipelines said after the sentencing. “We hope to demonstrate through our actions that we have learned from this incident and that we are making things better.”

He said the company is “deeply sorry” to downstream communities.

Images submitted to the court show the extent of oil along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River in 2016. (supplied/Saskatchewan Courts)

Victim impact statements were delivered from representatives of North Battleford, Prince Albert and three First Nation communities along the river.

Miazga read North Battleford’s statement, which said the city had claims in the millions of dollars, the impact was “dire and ongoing,” and will cause long-lasting changes to procedures and processes. The statement said the spill impacted the appearance of the city as it was unable to water parks and green spaces or sweep streets.

One year later, North Battleford’s utility department and water treatment operators were still managing an additional filtration plant.

A victim impact statement from Prince Albert was also read by Miazga. It said the spill had a significant impact on the Gateway to the North. The statement said the city was forced to implement its Emergency Operations Centre and go through “extensive, time consuming, labour intensive efforts” to provide alternative water sources before the treated water in the city reservoir ran out.

“The response was an intensive, stressful situation involving many parties, considerable risks and considerable losses to individuals and businesses,” the impact statement from Prince Albert read.

Chief Wayne Semaganis of the Little Pine First Nation said the damage caused by the spill has limited band members from hunting, fishing, trapping or farming on certain reserve land near the river for fear of being poisoned.

A report on an investigation from the Ministry of Energy and Resources found the pipeline failed as a result of mechanical cracking in a buckle in the line, caused by ground movement on the slope of the river valley.

— with files from Angela Brown

—

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr