Environment

Local author and oil and gas industry critic Andrew Nikiforuk talked to a standing- room-only crowd Feb. 20 at the Okotoks Public Library.
Nikiforuk was in town to promote his new book, Saboteurs: Wiebo Ludwig's War Against Big Oil and to talk to area residents about the dangers of being neighbors to the oil and gas industry.

Some Turner Valley residents living near the gas plant said concerns over contaminants have them wondering if their well water is safe to drink.
Last week Mark Chapman, the owner of an environmental company and a Turner Valley resident, said government documents show that contaminants such as mercury and hydrocarbons have seeped into the ground water at the gas plant site and it is only a matter of time before those contaminants reach the Sheep River.

Councillor questions credibility
Mark Chapman, a Turner Valley environmental consultant, approached council to express his concerns over the presence of contaminants in ground water-well monitoring sites and buried tanks that have been classified as open bottom. He added that while no contaminants, such as hydrocarbons, had been found in the Sheep River they were moving in that direction. 'I don't want you (council) to fall into complacency,' Chapman said, adding that he would meet with individual council members to explain provincial documents that outline the on-site contamination.

Dramatic erosion in the Sheep River near Turner Valley has driven the west bank dangerously close to the contaminated soil of the Turner Valley Gas Plant.
Alberta Environment and Alberta Community Development, the owner of the property, said work must be done quickly to divert the river away from the site and contain contaminants.

Turner Valley’s Mayor Kelly Tuck feels confident that Alberta Community Development has been carrying out its responsibilities to maintain a controversial historic gas plant site.
On the other hand, local environmentalist Mark Chapman says the province and the town have been negligent in keeping the public informed on the issue.

Over three thousand metric tonnes of soil is being excavated from the Turner Valley Gas Plant in an effort to remove potentially toxic mercury.
Alberta Infrastructure and Alberta Community Development began the project two weeks ago, following a report from the Calgary Health Region, which recommended that young children and pregnant women no longer be allowed on tours of the historic site due to unhealthy levels of mercury in some patches of soil and inside four buildings.

Questions over a controversial historical landmark in Turner Valley, fraught with environmental problems, will be addressed at a public meeting Nov. 20.
Representatives from Alberta Community Development (ACD) and Alberta Infrastructure will be on hand between 2:30 pm and 5 pm and again between 6 pm and 8 pm to discuss the clean up of the Turner Valley Gas Plant site.

Confusion surrounding the on-going clean-up of contaminated soil at the historic Turner Valley Gas Plant has prompted the Town of Black Diamond to take action.

Council voted Wednesday to mail out information sheets regarding the cleanup and its associated costs with November's utility bill.

A plan to divert the Sheep River back to its former path and away from the Turner Valley Gas Plant has received approval from Oceans and Fisheries Canada.
Martin Dupuis, Alberta Infrastructure spokesperson, said the diversion plan had to be adjusted to receive federal and provincial approval, but could not disclose details of the plan, saying that the plan had to meet the governments’ environmental standards.

Heavy machinery has begun the task of rerouting the Sheep River 50 metres away from the Turner Valley Gas Plant.
Iron Horse Earthworks, a Calgary company which was awarded the contract in late February, has completed 25 per cent of the project to date.