(The following story by Maria Calabrese appeared on The North Bay Nugget website on June 5, 2009.)
NORTH BAY, Ontario — Doug Antler knew something was wrong when a parade of provincial officials called his business and came knocking on his door.
When the wind dropped, you could see telltale signs similar to if you had spilled gas on water,” said the owner of Antler’s Kingfisher Lodge in Deux Rivieres, about 95 kilometres east of North Bay.
It’s bad for business, says Antler, who plans to find out his options after a nearby train derailment spilled engine fuel into the Ottawa River about 15 kilometres east of Mattawa early Wednesday morning.
The Environment Ministry asked Antler to keep an eye on bird populations, and concerned customers are calling about the condition of the river. It didn’t stop him from dropping his line to catch a few fish that night.
The Ministry of Natural Resources doesn’t believe the spill poses any harm to fishing, and the Renfrew County and District Health Unit is optimistic the slick will not reach more densely populated areas downstream that draw drinking water from the river, said Bob Schreader, manager of environmental health. That is our major concern at the present time,” he said. It’s the beginning of the season. I’m just glad that this didn’t happen in the middle of July when you’ve got everybody out on the river; lots of boaters.”
He said diesel fumes are a discomfort but pose no health risks.
The Ottawa Valley Railway said three beaver dams collapsed or were destroyed, and marks on utility poles show a wall of water at least a metre high washed out a 180-metre section of track.
Two members of the train crew suffered minor injuries when two locomotives rolled and spilled more than 20,000 litres of fuel, Wednesday at about 3:10 a. m. Six empty centre-beam railcars, usually used to haul lumber, also derailed.
The company said in a news release the washout and the fuel spill are still under investigation.
The ministry said the fuel slick was moving slower than expected and had only travelled 16 kilometres downstream by Thursday morning from the derailment site.
It appeared to be about four kilometres west of the Rolphton dam about 18 kilometres upstream from Deep River, Petawawa and Pembroke. Treatment facilities were instructed to close their water intakes as a precaution.
The OVR news release said it has hired three environmental specialists to help with the cleanup, including Newalta Inc., Drain-All Ltd. and AMEC.
An oil absorbent pad is being used in the cleanup, and water volume is helping to dilute the diesel which evaporates quickly, all helping to reduce the concentration of fuel in the water.
The company said there doesn’t appear to be any effect on wildlife and waterfowl in the area.
The health unit said the ministry and the OVR have been testing the water for benzene, and the results will determine what steps might be taken to protect residents downstream.
The OVR did not return a call for comment, but it provided an updated news release Thursday evening.
The company said the injured crew members were transported from the scene within 90 minutes. It said the derailment happened in a remote area in the middle of the night, and officials contacted the ministry after noticing the leak during daylight.
The Environment Ministry said it would look into why it took the company more than five hours to alert the province about the spill.
The release said it’s too early to provide a damage estimate, but it did not comment on when that stretch of track was last inspected.
The OVR is a short-line railroad with 550 kilometres of track between Coniston and Smiths Falls with CP interchanges at Sudbury and Smiths Falls.
RailAmerica operates the OVR and Canadian Pacific Railway owns the rail line.
The company is denying any dispute between the two multinational companies, although the Teamsters Rail Conference Line East, which represents OVR workers in the North Bay area, said there is a conflict over who is responsible for rail maintenance and upgrades to the tracks.
Canadian National Railway sold its tracks from Pembroke through North Bay in the 1990s, and The Nugget reported in April that CP was rerouting freight traffic from the short line to its own system from Sudbury to Montreal.
We’re concerned,” said Alastair Baird, business development officer with the County of Renfrew representing 17 municipalities from Mattawa to Arnprior.
He said municipalities worry about the future of the short line.
If we lose it, we lose that opportunity for future development,” Baird said.
The company said in the release the route affected by the derailment has seen a substantial” decline in business over the last few weeks, and it won’t need the track for another 14 days although it expects the line to be reopened before then.