Oil has been spilled into the North Saskatchewan River.
The exact cause and scale of the incident is not yet known, but reports on social media are indicating a number of oil workers were pulled off their worksites to deal with the issue.
Residents of the local area near the river have reported seeing oil in the water near Maidstone, as well as Paynton.
As for the official word on the incident, Ralph Bock, the Manager of Hazardous Materials for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, has said the government received word of an oil slick on the North Saskatchewan River around 10 a.m. this morning, located at the Highway 21 bridge north of Maidstone.
After following up on the report, Bock said a pipeline release was discovered, which had flowed overland into the river. The Ministry of the Environment, as well as the Ministry of the Economy, have workers on-scene dealing with the issue, assisting with the response from Husky Energy.
“They’ve contained the release at the spill site, and they are working at putting some booms and control downstream to capture it before it gets any further, and that would be at the Paynton Ferry,” said Bock.
According to Bock, the oil has flowed from the break near Maidstone down through the river, and the break in the line was not underwater. An official summation of the damage caused by the spill is not yet available.
“Right now our focus is on getting the incident contained, then we can focus on other mitigation efforts,” said Bock.
Climate Change Canada has reportedly been notified about the incident.
