Saskatoon (CP) - Thousands of lakes in northern Saskatchewan could be polluted by full-scale development or oil sands in northeastern Alberta, says a government spokesman.
Larry Lechner, director of Saskatchewan's air quality branch, said Wednesday a new study has confirmed fears that lakes in the pre-Cambrian shield region, downwind from the Syncrude Canada Ltd. and Suncor Inc. oil sands plant in Alberta, are sensitive to acid rain.
Lechner said if oil market conditions encourage an expansion of capacity at the Syncrude plant near Fort McMurray, lakes and rivers in Saskatchewan could be poisoned by acid rain.
A spokesman for Syncrude, which now is permitted to release 292 tonnes a day of sulphur dioxide and other emissions from its oil sands plant, said pollution will actually be reduced by future expansion.
Lechner said if emission of sulphur dioxide and other pollutants was substantially increased through a proliferation of oil sands plants, lakes in northern Saskatchewan could wind up like the thousands of dead and dying lakes in Central and Eastern Canada.
Syncrude spokesman David Young said emissions from the plant will be reduced to 265 tonnes a day when the current expansion is completed because of improvements in pollution control.
Emissions will remain at that level even if Syncrude decides to go ahead in 1989 with a further 50-percent expansion of its capacity to 225,000 barrels a day, Young said.
Suncor, which produces about half as much oil as Syncrude, has not announced expansion plans.
Lechner said a survey of northern lakes, coupled with material from environmental impact statements and other sources, indicates Saskatchewan lakes are not now suffering from acid rain.
He said similar surveys have been done in the other western provinces and will be combined in two or three months to produce a map indicating regional sensitivities to acid rain.
Lechner said the Saskatchewan study showed that except for a band of moderately sensitive lakes south of the pre-Cambrian shield, lakes in the province have a high tolerance for acid rain.
Reprinted from the Regina Leader Post, March 1989, with the permission of the Canadian Press.