Originally published April 19, 2023 at The Narwhal. Read the full story here.

Thirteen kilometres west of Imperial Oil’s Kearl oilsands mine, near where her family used to hunt and trap, Jean L’Hommecourt has her own cabin. It’s a place where she remembers being able to drink right from the creek. It’s where she used to go to harvest plants and berries. It’s where, she says, she feels most at home. It’s where she belongs.

L’Hommecourt, now 59, grew up near the northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan and continues to harvest from the land — downstream from the oilsands.

In February, she harvested a moose near her cabin, and shared her bounty with family and Elders.

Little did she know that in May of last year, Imperial had found discoloured water in the marshy land outside Kearl’s tailings area and eventually confirmed the discolouration was from tailings leaks that were infiltrating groundwater and bubbling up to contaminate the surface water as well. 

Both the company and the Alberta Energy Regulator failed to notify impacted communities for nine months after first spotting that water — and not until a second incident spilled 5.3 million litres over a retaining wall and into the surrounding land in February 2023, leading to a flurry of concerns about drinking water, wildlife and contamination of land.

Those millions of litres spilled days before L’Hommecourt got her moose. 

Imperial says the spill took place on Jan. 31, but wasn’t detected until Feb. 4, when it was reported to the energy regulator. The regulator says Imperial initially estimated the spill to be 2,000 litres, but on Feb. 5 during a site visit, the company said its estimate had increased to 5.3 million litres. 

The regulator says it will not comment on why there was a delay in reporting or possible repercussions due to its ongoing investigation of the incident. Meanwhile, there is ongoing uncertainty surrounding the cause and effects of the spill. 

“What if something happens to them?” L’Hommecourt says of those who shared her moose. “I kind of feel that responsibility that I might have made them sick by consuming the meat and I feel sad that I have to feel that way.”

This is a region where many still live off the land and where many also work in the oilsands. Where politics — local, provincial, national and global — coalesce and clash.

The spill renewed debate about how much is enough when it comes to the impact of the oilsands on surrounding communities. It has also raised the difficult question of how to work with an industry that so many people in this region depend on without sacrificing the land.

“In order for you to take care of it, to manage it, you have to be part of it,” Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan says in reference to the economic importance of the oilsands to this community. “That’s now your new trapline.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT THE NARWHAL.