Michigan, Ontario officials monitoring crude oil spill, cleanup in St. Clair River
U.S. and Canadian officials are monitoring a crude oil spill that was detected Thursday in the Canadian side of the St. Clair River near the Suncor Sarnia Refinery.
No impacts to drinking water were reported for Ontario or Michigan residents, although water intake valves were temporarily closed on the Michigan side, according to the Be Ready St. Clair County office in Michigan. In the meantime, Ontario residents were urged to stay away from the river itself, according to a notice from Lambton Public Health in Port Edward, Ontario.
The spill was detected about 1 p.m. Thursday "as part of its regular monitoring," Suncor Sarnia Refinery said in a community notification notice. The area of concern was just south of the refinery, with Suncor and Shell crews using booms to contain and limit the spread.
The winds were out of the west, heading east toward the Canadian side of the river, at the time.
In response to the situation, Lambton Public Health in Ontario issued a notice saying that its residents should avoid using the river water for bathing, drinking and food preparation and use only municipal water sources for the time being.
"There have been no known reports of illness associated with this incident," the Lambton health agency said.
The U.S. Coast Guard said it sent its helicopters over the area Thursday afternoon and Friday to help monitor the situation, adding that "no sheening was observed" Friday. Coast Guard Station St. Clair was doing patrols on the river.
Crews from the U.S. Homeland Security and Emergency Management and Canada's Ministry of the Environment also got involved.
"We continue to work with local organizations on our response, who are assisting with shoreline assessment and air monitoring in the vicinity," the refinery notice said.
