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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, July 8, 2010 · 8 Company says pipeline leak didn't damage Bronte Creek By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Testing conducted at Bronte Creek is showing no damage to the creek's water or wildlife from gasoline leaked into the creek by a TransNorthern Pipeline Inc. pipe back in March. Representatives from Trans-Northern went over test results, conducted by the company's environmental consultant (MMM Group), during Tuesday's meeting of Oakville's Community Services Committee. The committee heard that MMM Group had conducted a review of drinking water wells within a 500-metre radius of the leak site, which is just west of the Speers and Bronte Road area and north of the CN rail line, and found the leak has not caused an adverse impact to the quality of drinking water. After the leak was discovered, Trans-Northern took water samples from the creek and found the contaminant OAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTO CONTAINMENT MEASURES: Nets were initially set up in Bronte Creek underneath the Rebecca Street bridge to contain a gasoline leak from a Trans-Northern Pipeline pipe when it was discovered in March. levels exceeded Provincial Water Quality Objectives (PWQO). As a result, Trans-Northern introduced multiple measures to try and contain the contamination. These measures included placing surface water Mycelx containment systems at various locations along the creek bank, a dam and weir system at the south end of the site, containment dams at the south end of the site to prevent contaminated water from entering the creek and the installation of a 100 gallon/minute water treatment system to treat ground water from wells installed at the leak site. Summertime Backyard Sales Event! Win A Backyard Makeover! Win a $5,000 Gift Card towards a backyard makeover* All Floor Models, Stock and Demo Models Reduced! *No purchase necessary. See store for details. A Town of Oakville staff report states that since May 25, all surface water samples from Bronte Creek, outside the containment systems, have passed PWQO levels. When asked by Ward 1 Councillor Ralph Robinson about the health of the Bronte Creek marshlands and wildlife, TransNorthern's Manager of Operations and Pipeline Integrity Michael LeBlanc replied the spill has had no impact to the marsh area. "We've had scientists and specialists go to the marsh area and evaluate not only the banks of the marsh, but we've had aquatic specialists as well as people looking at the wildlife there and all indications are that there has been no impact at all to the marsh area," said LeBlanc. "The information that I've gotten from our scientists is that there has been no impact to the fish habitat. Going forward based on the containment measures we have in place we believe those ground water extraction systems, Mycelx systems, the boon systems that are there will contain any contaminated ground water or any type of contamination from entering the creek and going down stream." Trans-Northern estimates that as much as 90,000 litres of gasoline was able to leak out into the soil before the leak was discovered on March 16. A yellow slick was seen in Bronte Creek, in the Speers and Bronte Road area, on March 11. Exactly how much gasoline was able to seep into the creek is unknown. LeBlanc said he expects it to take up to two years to clean up the contamination at the site with plans underway to remove the most contaminated soil from the area, which is found underneath the CN railway bridge. LeBlanc said he expects the TransNorthern clean up effort to run into the millions of dollars. "First and foremost Trans-Northern takes full responsibility for the leak that occurred from the pipeline," said LeBlanc. "Whatever resources it takes to (fix) that in an appropriate fashion, Trans-Northern is committed to doing so." Town staff have said they will continue to work with TransNorthern, the National Energy Board, the Ministry of the Environment and Conservation Halton to ensure the appropriate site remediation measures are being taken and that steps will be implemented to prevent future pipeline spills from occurring. Easter Seals Regatta Saturday The Bronte Harbour Yacht Club, The Oakville Yacht Squadron and the Oakville Power Boat Club will host the sixth annual Oakville Easter Seals Regatta presented by TD Canada Trust on Saturday. This fundraising event features a variety of watercraft taking to Lake Ontario to support children and youth with physical disabilities. Each year this event hosts activities for the kids, a barbecue lunch, awards, dinner and live and silent auctions. The Oakville Fire Fighters and the Halton Regional Police Marine Unite will assist with the event. The event has raised $135,000 in the last five years. This year's goal is $35,000. For more information contact Caroline Wallace, senior development officer, Easter Seals Ontario at 905-639-0185 or cwallace@easterseals.org. 2000 Appleby Line (Millcroft Shopping Centre) Burlington 2379 Trafalgar Road (Winners Plaza) Trafalgar Ridge Plaza, Oakville 905-315-7800 905-257-5006 w w w. t h e s u n d a n c e s p a s t o r e . c o m