Edmonton – Alberta Environment’s decision to forego an investigation of a serious fire that occurred last summer at the Swan Hills Treatment Centre stands in stark contrast to the ministry’s overzealous handling of other less significant environmental incidents over the last decade. It also raises some important and troubling questions.

“What is it about this particular incident that made the government turn a blind eye and not even bother to notify local residents when toxic fumes were released into the air?” asks Liberal Environment Critic Laurie Blakeman. “Why the sudden lax approach to environmental protection?”

Blakeman believes that the answer lies in the fact that the government wanted to avoid drawing any undue attention to the waste treatment plant’s increasingly questionable financial position.

“Let’s not forget that this is a facility that has been losing money for some time now,” notes Blakeman. “In the 2007-08 fiscal year, the operating deficit was almost $7.5 million and equipment and inventory purchases were close to $2 million over budget! In 2008-09, the operating deficit was just over $3 million. The big question is how this fire, which shut down operations for 10 months, will affect the facility’s bottom line.”

Blakeman also wants to know how the 2009 fire will affect the facility’s long term reclamation costs, which are already forecast to be somewhere in the range of $62 to $71 million – costs that will be borne by Alberta taxpayers.

“Alberta Environment’s unusual handling of the Swan Hills Treatment Centre fire is but the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of this controversial facility,” says Blakeman. “Albertans deserve an explanation as to why their government seemingly opted to ignore a serious environmental incident in favour of keeping the waste treatment plant out of the public eye.”

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