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Sour Gas Levels at Mildred Lake

Ms Blakeman:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The levels of hydrogen sulphide, or sour gas, at Mildred Lake are alarming. By the end of September sour gas levels already surpassed last year’s record, exceeding the standard 376 times. Now, strangely, the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association is reporting that the increase is possibly due to malfunctioning analyzers and may not be due to extreme sour gas levels.

To the Minister of Environment: these abnormalities have been publicly reported for over two months, so what is it? Is it faulty equipment, or is it high sour gas levels?

Mr. Renner:

Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to the hon. member that it is not faulty equipment, but it is a misrepresentation or interpretation of the results. The fact of the matter is that there are times when there are exceedances, and when those exceedances occur, it is imperative that the company take appropriate steps to resolve the issue. Where we become concerned to the extreme – and that’s where the member should become concerned to the extreme – is when those exceedances occur on an ongoing, regular basis.

Ms Blakeman:

I would have said that 376 times in nine months is ongoing. Given that the air monitors in Wood Buffalo have been found with their hydrogen sulphide samplers disconnected and were only serviced after receiving notice of an upcoming audit, has the minister increased inspections of Wood Buffalo’s air monitors?

Mr. Renner:

Mr. Speaker, I’m not aware of the circumstance that the member refers to. I’ll happily check it out and advise her accordingly.

Ms Blakeman:

Good. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, coincidentally, the same year that Saskatchewan accuses Alberta of exporting our acid rain to them, the minister slashes his air monitoring budget. So to the Minister of Environment: why is the minister compromising Alberta’s air quality and reputation by deliberately underfunding air monitoring?

Mr. Renner:

Mr. Speaker, it’s not so much the amount of monitoring that is important; it’s what is done to ensure that we maintain quality of air, ambient air quality. Doubling the monitoring isn’t going to improve the air. I would suggest to the hon. member that she’s got her priorities a little bit mixed up. We should be focusing on ensuring that we have the necessary plan in place to assure Albertans and those who live downwind of Alberta that we’re doing everything we can to protect the air.