Work continues to clean second motor oil spill in river near Montreal

MONTREAL — Work continued Friday to clean up the second oil spill in two weeks in the St. Lawrence River off eastern Montreal.

The Quebec Environment Department has confirmed that the two spills in the Pointe-aux-Trembles district involved motor oil that flowed into the river from a city storm sewer. Officials are working with the City of Montreal to figure out how the oil ended up in the sewers.

The latest spill was discovered near a marina on Thursday, after heavy rainfall the night before. The Canadian Coast Guard deployed booms to contain the spill and a vacuum truck to recover the contaminated water. It also sent out a drone and a helicopter to assess the spill from above.

On Thursday afternoon, the coast guard transferred responsibility for the cleanup to the provincial government after it was confirmed that the contamination was from a source on land.

At least one injured seagull covered in oil was transported Thursday to a wildlife conservation centre. Two officials with the provincial environmental emergency service, Urgence-Environnement, were on location Friday.

The earlier spill was reported on July 11 in a similar location in the river off Pointe-aux-Trembles. A total of 19,000 litres of water mixed with about 1,000 litres of oil were pumped from the river after that first spill, but officials couldn’t find the source at the time.

That cleanup ended on July 19, less than a week before the second spill was discovered.

A government spokesperson said the two spills involved motor oil “with the same profile” and that work continues to find the source of the contamination.

Access to the marina is limited to boat owners, who will only be able to leave with their boats once they have been cleaned.

The government says no water intakes are at risk from the spills, and no drinking water advisories have been issued.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2024.

Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press