Heather Wright/The Independent

Aamjiwnaang First Nation leaders are demanding answers after a spill into the St. Clair River.

March 11, after 7 pm, Suncor reported a sheen on the St. Clair River. They said it was a hydrocarbon spill. March 13, the company said the release may have been from a “third-party pipeline.”

A Community Notification issued by BASES for Suncor said the release was quickly contained and the pipeline remained shutdown.

Suncor officials added all the regulatory agencies had been notified.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Aamjiwnaang First Nation Chief Janelle Nahmabin and council posted a letter on social media looking for answers.

The news release said the First Nation became aware of the problem just as a conference focused on water was closing. “This fence line is adjacent to Aamjiwnaang’s reserve and reports confirm that the pipeline spill led to fuel products leaking into the ground and St. Clair River,” said the statement. 

“There is no end in sight. No cause of the leak has been reported to Aamjiwnaang, and we still do not know how large of a spill occurred. Aamjiwnaang demands answers.”

The First Nation has hired its own contractor to monitor the situation and keep the community informed. 

“Aamjiwnaang calls on the Crown and industry to share information promptly and transparently about the spill and emergency response” said the Chief and council.

Community leaders met with industry officials Tuesday and have a meeting with federal Indigenous Services Thursday.

A community meeting is also planned Wednesday to provide an update.

“Many questions remain. For example, we do not know the cause of the spill or the total volume of fuel product that spilled from the pipeline and contaminated the land and water. We also do not know the remediation plan,” said the statement.

Officials said there is no time frame for the repairs and remediation.

The First Nation has also asked Sarnia Police to manage the increased truck traffic along River Road. 

“Aamjiwnaang does not authorize transport trucks along River Road, especially during this sensitive situation. We can expect increased truck traffic because fuel product that would have moved through the affected Sun-Canadian pipeline from the Shell to Suncor facilities is now being transported by truck. Aamjiwnaang calls on industry to divert its truck traffic away from River Road and around the reserve.

“The health and safety of our community and the well-being of the environment is paramount.”

The council calls for “robust” oversight of all pipelines at a time when both the federal and provincial government recently passed bills allowing industrial project to move forward with less oversight.

“Aamjiwnaang has expressed continued disapproval of such legislation, warning that weakened environmental and pipeline oversight creates precisely the conditions for pipeline emergencies, like last week’s oil spill,” council said in the statement.

“These emergencies do not help us or our economy – they contaminate our land and our water, further jeopardize our rights, and cost industry huge sums of money and the loss of public confidence in the safety of their pipeline infrastructure.”