Communications lacking: Sydney residents want more details from Imperial Oil on spill remediation

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SYDNEY, N.S. — Gardening season is upon Cape Breton.

However, some residents of Sydney's north end aren't sure they can plant any vegetables as they don't know if their backyards were contaminated by the gasoline spill on July 8, 2022.

The spill, which happened at an Imperial Oil tank farm, resulted in 600,000 litres of gasoline running out of the facility.

Clean-up of the gasoline took less than three days and remediation started by July 11, 2022.

However, Grace Arsenault, spokesperson of the Future of the North-end Residents group, said residents are still waiting to hear what soil test results are before planting their vegetables.

"We know there's contamination but did it spread to our backyards," Arsenault said. "That's a really big concern. We also worry about our taxes and our property values. Are our property values going to be affected by this?"

These and other concerns, such as the reason why an alarm went off at the facility around 1 a.m. on May 8, have been sent to Imperial Oil spokesperson Mike Cecconi by email.

By publication time Arsenault hadn't heard back from anyone at Imperial Oil regarding these concerns and said communication has been "a step above poor."

"The information they give us is general. We want details," she said.

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Public meetings after the spill brought to light that there is no onsite foam truck for emergencies like the one last summer.

When gasoline is spilled or leaks there is a chance of a fire or explosion. Putting a special foam on top of the gasoline prevents this.

To the best of Arsenault's knowledge, there is still no foam truck onsite at the north end Sydney tank farm.

"I know they're down there and they're doing a lot of work and they're doing a lot of things that they have to do (that) the Nova Scotia Department of Environment tells them, you know, to meet the regulations," she said.

"They're bringing everything up to the standard they have to meet but they still need to talk with the residents."

An interview request with Imperial Oil was not granted, however, a spokesperson provided a written statement.

In the statement, Keri Scobie did not provide details regarding the alarm that went off at the facility on May 8, nor was there any update on getting an onsite foam truck.

However, the statement did say that both the company and the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) are working together regarding equipment and training.

"Imperial and CBRM emergency services recognize that readiness of equipment and supplies is an area of concern and are jointly evaluating equipment and training that would be beneficial to both emergency responders and Imperial," Scobie wrote in the statement.

What happened

Another concern Arsenault said residents have trucking routes in the area, which begin at 4:30 a.m.

"People don't seem to realize that but those trucks start coming down into our neighbourhood at 4:30 in the morning and they're not light trucks, they're heavy trucks, they're carrying fuel," she explained.

"They were parking in front of houses and they were idling. Imperial Oil and our councillor, they have taken great steps to, you know, put up no idling signed, but that doesn't go far enough."

Both the noise of the trucks, which transport the gasoline and the damage done to roadways have concerned residents since 2006: many years before the spill.

One suggestion Arsenault said the residents' group has involves building a bridge of Muggah's Creek for truck traffic travelling Sydney Port Access Road. Another is relocating the facility to an industrial area.

"I know it doesn't happen overnight but we'd like to hear that it's going to happen," said Arsenault.

Scobie said Imperial Oil is open to discussions with the CBRM about truck traffic.

"Imperial is open to conversations with the CBRM on actions to reduce truck traffic impacts on George Street and potential re-routing of truck access to the terminal," said Scobie in the emailed statement.

"We have worked with CBRM to install courtesy "Idle Free Zone" signs along roadways near the terminal to help mitigate any unnecessary impacts on the neighbours in these areas. We also continue to communicate this expectation to the trucking companies and appreciate when neighbours can share information about idling trucks directly with us so it can promptly be resolved."

While there has been some communication with an Imperial Oil spokesperson, who has visited residents at their homes, Arsenault said it is "a step above poor" as the answers to questions tend to be vague instead of detailed.

As previously reported in the Cape Breton Post, the Imperial Oil terminal in Sydney provides fuel for northern Nova Scotia, mainly to Cape Breton. Fuels are received at the port of Sydney and pipelined to the terminal.

The facility has six tanks for the storage of gasoline, diesel and furnace fuel oil and the truck loading rack operates 24 hours a day. The facility is remotely monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It's estimated that close to 27 million litres of fuel are stored at the facility when all tanks are full.

Nicole Sullivan is a diversity and health reporter, who sometimes covers the education beat, with the Cape Breton Post.