Heather Wright/The Independent

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks officials the spill at Suncor was smaller than first reported and the clean up of a crude oil spill into the St. Clair River will likely take until the end of this week.

March 27, Suncor in Sarnia notified the ministry that up to 5,000 litres of crude oil spilled into the St. Clair River from the company’s cooling system.

Emergency crews from Suncor and Shell, downriver from the Suncor dock, placed booms in the water to contain the crude oil. Booms were also deployed at the Shell docks as surveillance boats circled in the area around 2:30 pm that day.

The spill sparked concern in St. Clair Township. Officials there warned residents not to use water from the river, but that led to some confusion. Most of the township’s residents use the municipal system which was not affected.

Late Thursday afternoon, Lambton Public Health issued a Do Not Use warning for water from St. Clair River saying the crude flow has been stopped but there may be issues downstream.

Public health said people should not use the water from the river under any circumstance and avoid skin contact. Public health told residents to use municipal water for things like bathing, drinking and brushing teeth.

Public health wasn’t aware of anyone who had become sick from the crude spill.

The Town of Petrolia also issued a notice to confirm its water was not affected since its water is drawn from Lake Huron, not the St. Clair River.

Clean up of the spill continues, likely until the end of the week according to ministry officials.

Gary Wheeler, in a statement to The Independent, says officials believe the amount of oil which entered the river is far less than first reported.

“It was later determined that the spilled hydrocarbon consisted of 500 to 700 litres of crude oil. Impacts were primarily identified in the areas around the Suncor south dock and Shell boat dock. Cleanup efforts are focused in this area,” he wrote adding investigators are monitoring the progress of the clean up. 

 “The ministry’s role is to ensure that those responsible for any discharges to the environment take all necessary measures to restore it to its original state.”

Wheeler added the ministry is not aware of any wildlife affected by the spill.