Snuneymuxw First Nation sounds alarm on pollution at Nanaimo, B.C., industrial park
CBC
Snuneymuxw First Nation is calling for a temporary closure and environmental investigation of a hazardous waste services company following a January oil spill on Duke Point near Nanaimo, B.C.
City of Nanaimo staff were informed of oily residue near a storm drain close to the Duke Point Ferry Terminal on Jan. 5.
Staff said the spill originated from a business in the nearby industrial park, and a B.C. Ministry of Environment spokesperson said there was an estimated 350 to 1,600 litres of oil sheen on the water between Duke Point and Mudge Island.
Bill Yoachim, an elected councillor for Snuneymuxw First Nation, said the amount of oil spilled into the area was 1,800 litres.
The First Nation, along with a Feb. 19 statement from the Ministry of Environment, said the industrial park business Environmental 360 Solutions was responsible for the spill.
Yoachim said Environmental 360 Solutions did not immediately notify the First Nation of the spill, and denied any involvement.
"Pretty much basically saying, 'We don't know what you're talking about.' So it's quite confusing and perplexed when they had come out and admitted it to government," said Yoachim.
"It saddens me in how a business would think it's not very important to notify and work with the nation."
In a Feb. 19 statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for Environmental 360 Solutions said the company has provided third party validation the spill "did not originate from E360S site," and the company is working with the Ministry of Environment.
Snuneymuxw Chief Michael Wyse sent a letter Feb. 6 to municipal, provincial and federal leaders addressing the oil spill.
Wyse said the First Nation incurred $12,000 in costs for its response to the spill, and was directed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to close its commercial and ceremonial shellfish harvesting affected area, which cost its fisheries $30,000 a week.
The closure was issued Jan. 8, and lifted Feb. 13.
A second letter from Wyse Feb. 6 urged governments to take action to address polluting activities in their territory.
Wyse called effluent from a sawmill at the Duke Point industrial area “yet another example of systemic failure by government and industrial operators to prevent, identify and address long-standing environmental harm in our territory.”
Last month, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak pointed out on social media that history was made this year because there are a record 164 female chiefs serving across the country.
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