Rainy River First Nation is still assessing potential damage this week after a leak of untreated wastewater from the Abitibi-Consolidated kraft mill here early last week reached sturgeon spawning grounds downstream.
In a press release issued last Wednesday (May 9), the band said the spawning grounds, which are used for egg collection for the Rainy River Fish Hatchery there, were affected.
“Oh definitely. We’re just trying to see the extent of the impact,” Rainy River First Nation Chief Jim Leonard said.
The band said the sturgeon have moved off the spawning grounds at Manitou Rapids, and that the natural spawning process ceased five days into the process and is unlikely to continue.
“We did catch a couple of fish. One still had some eggs left but one was empty so it had already spawned somewhere else,” noted Chief Leonard. “We don’t really have any conclusions yet.”
But mill officials say they have thoroughly checked chemical content, oxygen demand, and pH levels in the river at several points, and found nothing unusual.
As reported in the Daily Bulletin, the leak was detected by the mill around 3 a.m. last Monday (May 7). While the kraft mill was shut down by 6:30 a.m., Abitibi now says about 1,500 U.S. gallons per minute leaked into the river for that three-and-a-half hours.
The band said total estimates of the amount of wastewater that spilled into the river ranged from just over 315,000 gallons, according to Abitibi-Consolidated, up to 1.8 million gallons according to the Ministry of the Environment.
A line of foam was visible for several kilometres on the surface of the river the morning of the leak.
“Rainy River First Nation is waiting to see if the spawning sturgeon will turn back to the spawning ground,” said Chief Leonard. “Until then, we are skeptical of the impulse to downplay the impact of this spill on Rainy River.”
But both the mill and MoE have stated the volume of wastewater should not affect the river’s environment.
“We’ve assessed the calculations from a liberal standpoint and there would be no effects,” said John Barr, the MoE’s regional supervisor in Kenora.
“Fortunately, the river flow at this time is high and it will be moved out and there will be full dilution,” Gary Rogozinski, Pulping and Utilities Technical Superintendent for Abitibi-Consolidated here, had said the day of the leak.
But, according to the release issued by the band, a sharp decrease in water temperature was detected after the leak.
It said the water temperature was 10.6 C on May 7 but had dropped to 8.3 C on May 8–a 20 percent decrease which, the release stated, will cause dramatic changes to the physiological development of the embryos in the eggs which already have been spawned.
“The material that was spilled was 30 C. I find it hard to understand why the temperatures in the river would drop when you put something in that’s warmer than the river,” argued Barr.
A delegation from Rainy River First Nation, including Chief Leonard, as well as the reeves of Chapple and Emo, met with Abitibi-Consolidated reps last Tuesday.
“We expressed our concerns about possible direct and indirect effects on the natural spawning of the lake sturgeon and walleye,” said Chief Leonard, who argued the mill gates may have been opened, in part, to dilute the spill, which consequently affected the river temperature.
“There were no gates opened to dilute the spill,” Rogozinski countered this morning. “The IJC determines when we open or close gates. We can’t unilaterally decide to open or close a gate.
“We’ve offered to help them look into what disturbed the grounds,” he added. “We never exceeded any daily limit with the upset.”
Meanwhile, Emo Reeve Russ Fortier noted he and Chapple Reeve Cecil Wilson also have some concerns about the spill and hope to meet NDP leader and local MPP Howard Hampton as well as local MP Robert Nault, also the minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
“I understand that accidents can happen. What I have a hard time with is they seem to have a licence to do that,” said Reeve Fortier. “I don’t understand how you can have a licence to pollute in this day and age.”
Emo residents get their drinking water from the river.
“The only change we had at our water treatment plant is we had a change in our pH levels but still within tolerable levels . . . and it looked messy–there was foam on the river for a day-and-a-half,” noted Reeve Fortier.
“There’s no good system for warning people, no mechanism,” he argued.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
