Alberta’s tailings ponds might kill about 31 times more birds a year than industry has thought, says a new study.
Sherwood Park ecologist Kevin Timoney and Dalhousie University biologist Robert Ronconi published a report on bird deaths in the Alberta oilsands region this week. The report estimates the number of birds that die each year from landing on tailings ponds.
There are about 120 sq. km of tailings ponds in the Athabasca region, Timoney says — an area about three-and-a-half times the size of St. Albert — and industry reports suggest about 65 birds land and die in them each year.
But industry and government data on bird deaths suggest the average is closer to 2,000, he says — about 31 times more than reported. This is likely a conservative estimate, he says, as it only covers birds that die during spring migration.
The results weren’t a surprise to Colleen Cassady St. Clair, a biologist at the University of Alberta who studies bird deterrents on tailings ponds and testified on bird deaths during the recent Syncrude trial in St. Albert. A similar study in the U.S. found that oil pits (essentially mini-tailings ponds) killed up to a million birds a year. “It’s not a Chicken Little, the-sky-is-falling kind of number. It’s actually a very conservative number.”
It’s tough to track bird deaths on tailing ponds in an accurate way, St. Clair says; the ponds are huge and oiled birds quickly sink out of sight. Most companies use ad-hoc monitoring methods that aren’t particularly accurate.
No one has a clear idea as to the number of birds claimed by the tailings ponds, St. Clair notes, which hinders our efforts to mitigate those deaths. “Measuring the problem is the first step towards addressing the problem.”
Industry has a great disincentive to report dead birds due to the legal, financial and public relations penalties they bring, Timoney says. “No biologist would place credence in the numbers provided by industry.” Environment Canada should take over monitoring of bird deaths, he says, and industry should phase out the production of liquid tailings.
The study can be found in this week’s Wilson Journal of Ornithology.
New power meters in St. Albert should help residents better track their energy use and fend off climate change.
Fortis Alberta officials will install about 15,600 automated electricity meters on St. Albert homes this month, says spokesperson Dave Hunka. Unlike the current ones, these will transmit readings directly to the substation, eliminating the need for meter-readers.
“It’s very similar to using a modem to connect to the Internet,” he says. The meters send readings along the power line to Fortis at regular intervals, allowing for more accurate measurements. They should also help the company track power outages, as they’ll lose touch with the meters during a blackout. Residents should expect a minute-long power interruption as the meter is hooked up, he adds.
The company is installing about $124 million worth of these meters in Alberta, Hunka says. The meters should eliminate about 1,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions — equivalent to taking about 167 SUVs off the road for a year — since the company won’t have meter-readers driving around the province anymore. The old meters will be recycled.
Any questions on the meters should go to Fortis at 780-310-9473.
