Sometimes a picture is worth 300 square kilometres.
A lot has changed since the 1970s — including the footprint of the tailings ponds lakes that store toxic waste from Alberta’s oilsands operations. Just how much are they growing? They could now cover a large chunk of Toronto, or the city of Vancouver twice over.
That’s according to a new report from Environmental Defence and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, who together reviewed satellite imagery to map the impacts of the tailings on people, wildlife and the natural environment.
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Our Prairies reporter Drew Anderson dug into the details for this story that helps capture the scale of the change over time, with images of the growth in five-year increments.
“I’ve always been aware it’s a huge problem and the so-called ponds are large,” Drew told me, “but I didn’t quite realize the cumulative scale of them and the complete lack of certified reclamation.”
Yes, you read that right: the Alberta Energy Regulator told Drew that no tailings deposits have ever been certified as reclaimed. This is probably a good time to mention the estimated cleanup cost for all oilsands operations is pegged at $33 billion, and only $1.5 billion had been collected from companies for security as of last year (the oil industry’s track record for paying its bills isn’t exactly encouraging — just ask Alberta farmers).
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And as industry and the province figure out what to do about these ponds — dumping the wastewater into the Athabasca River is one option on the table — nearby Indigenous communities continue to live with the damage to their traditional territories and food security.
“It’s indescribable, I guess, because it smells like gases, it smells like chemicals,” says Jean L’Hommecourt, a Denesuline woman who lives just outside of Fort McKay, which is surrounded by the toxic waste.
L’Hommecourt, who provided input for the report, says her community can’t eat the fish or drink the water. Plus, there’s worry about what the chemicals might be doing to the moose they rely on as a source of food.
“When you breathe it in, it kind of permeates through your nose and you can even have that taste in your mouth.”
So what is Alberta doing about it? Can tailings deposits ever truly be reclaimed? And what about regulations that were meant to be in place? Drew dives into all of these questions, and more, in his piece.
Take care and don’t let your problems balloon to 300 square kilometres,
Arik Ligeti
Director of audience
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The Narwhal in the world
We’re celebrating more award wins! Photojournalists Amber Bracken and Pat Kane took home medals for coverage of RCMP raids on Wet’suwet’en territory and the collaborative efforts to save vanishing Arctic caribou, respectively.
The pair swept the photo storytelling category at the Digital Publishing Awards, with Amber receiving the gold and Pat taking the silver. Amber also nabbed the gold in the photo essay and photojournalism category at the National Magazine Awards.
As our managing editor Mike De Souza noted, this type of award-winning work wouldn’t be possible without The Narwhal’s 4,500-plus members who give whatever they can each month or year (join the pod!).
“The Narwhal’s members are funding work that is changing how other Canadian newsrooms report on the climate and biodiversity crises in both words and images,” Mike said.
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Get to know a Narwhal
Another new Narwhal? That’s right. We’ve been upping our engagement efforts lately — and the person behind it all is audience fellow Karan Saxena.
Karan comes to us after stints at Xtra Magazine and 5X Press, a publication dedicated to covering South Asian youth culture in Canada.
He’s putting those skills to work in short order: this very newsletter wouldn’t have been possible without Karan’s top-notch work behind the scenes. And if you haven’t been following us on Instagram, you should probably fix that.
I spoke with Karan about what authentic engagement looks like, the keys to building, or rebuilding, reader trust and the guilty pleasure that’s “so antithetical to who I am.”
Learn all about our social media savant in this Q&A.
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This week in The Narwhal
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I watched my mom get arrested at a logging blockade
By Louis Bockner
Arrests of 17 people in B.C.'s Kootenay region raise questions about peaceful protest and show the RCMP approach to protests is changing, one lawyer says.
READ MORE
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‘They were forced off their territory’: all eyes on precedent-setting Vancouver Island title case
By Judith Lavoie
READ MORE
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Canmore council makes final plea to the courts to avoid being forced to accept huge development
By Drew Anderson
READ MORE
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What we’re reading
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When you want to play in a “pond” but they’re all contaminated. Sign up for our newsletter — it’s up to code with conservation regulations.
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