Syncrude to pay over $2.7M to settle charges in Alberta blue heron deaths
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — Syncrude has pleaded guilty and been fined more than $2.7 million in the deaths of 31 great blue herons at one of its oilsands mines north of Fort McMurray.
An agreed statement of facts says Syncrude has admitted that an abandoned sump pond in which the birds were found didn’t have deterrents to keep waterfowl from landing on it, even though the pond met criteria for being high risk.
“For a three-month period between May and August of 2015, the external sump met the formal criteria … and presented features making it attractive to birds and other animals,” the statement says.