Oil Spill in BC Waters “Tribe’s Worst Nightmare”

Tribal harvest, economy threatened

— from Mark Hume for The Globe and Mail —

Members of the Heiltsuk Nation are hoping cleanup crews can protect clam beaches and salmon streams after a tug pushing a massive fuel barge ran aground [on October 13] near Bella Bella in the heart of British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest.

The barge, which has the capacity to carry 52,000 barrels of oil, was empty when it hit Edge Reef off the northern tip of Athlone Island early Thursday, but the tug Nathan E. Stewart contained an estimated 60,000 gallons of diesel.

An unknown amount has spilled, but the U.S. company that owns the tug and barge said resources “to meet a worst possible discharge have been activated and are either on scene or on route.”

(To read the full story, go to theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/tug-pushes-empty-fuel-barge-runs-aground-north-of-bella-bella-bc/  )

thanks to Stephanie Buffum