More than 120 birds dead at Suncor-owned Canada oil sands mine
CALGARY – More than 120 birds in Canada's oil heartland of Alberta were killed after getting caught in a pond of oil sands byproducts operated by the country's largest producer Suncor Energy, the local regulator said on Tuesday.
The Alberta Energy Regulator said the animals, waterfowl and songbirds, were found at the Fort Hills oil sands mine jointly owned by Suncor, France's Total and Canadian mining company Teck Resources.
Canada's oil sands produce large volumes of byproducts, usually captured in toxic tailings ponds, and associated animal deaths have fuelled international concern about the environmental impact of developing the sector.
The provincial regulator said some birds were found dead at one of the northern Alberta site's tailing ponds, while others were found injured and had to be euthanised.
The regulator said it was investigating. It did not disclose over what period the birds died and referred questions to Suncor, the project's majority owner. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month, Syncrude Canada, also majority owned by Suncor, was charged for the deaths of 31 great blue herons found at a sump at the company's Mildred Lake oil sands in 2015.
In 2014, the Alberta regulator cleared several oil sands operators of responsibility for the deaths of 196 waterfowl that landed on their tailings ponds, saying poor weather forced the birds down.
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