Delta residents fear train derailment contaminated farms, waterways

Dave Patterson watched as his energetic dog Molly jumped into a ditch near his Delta home last week. When she came out, he says, she was covered in a layer of dark oil.

"She came out just black, and I was amazed. I took a bunch of paper towels to her and it was just black," he said. "You could tell it was not something normal."

Patterson, who has lived in the area for 23 years, says oil residue began appearing in waterways along 112 Street in Delta after a BNSF train derailed nearby in November. 

At the time, a spokesperson said no hazardous materials had been compromised, but later added that fuel from a locomotive leaked, which was to be recovered and that crews would remediate the land.

The province since confirmed that an estimated 8,000 litres spilled into the railway ditch following the crash, and that BNSF has retained an environmental contractor and begun surface, soil, and water inspections and remediation.

Still, residents fear oil and possibly other chemicals have migrated along ditches and through culverts to the south side of the highway. Farms in the area draw from the waterways that residents allege have been contaminated.

Farming concerns

John Easton, a drone operator contracted by a blueberry farmer on the street, has been taking photos and videos over the past seven weeks, which he says show contaminants running off into the ditches.

"When I got here and put the first drone into the air, I realized it was quite a mess that I was seeing," he said.

Easton says he's maintaining a photographic library of the remediation efforts and documenting oil damage to the farmer's property.

"One of the ditches feeds directly into his irrigation pumphouse. A second ditch that also shows a significant amount of oil runs right down the middle of his property," he said.

On Tuesday, a hazardous materials vehicle was parked on site as a pair of workers canvassed the land. A tarp is currently covering part of the affected soil.

Easton fears rainy weather will continue to spread hazardous materials into the surrounding area.

"If it continues to leak all different colours of substances, why is it still there?" he said. "If it was so important to get it out of the rail bed, why is it still sitting here in the bog, where it looks to be contaminating more and more every day."

In a statement, the province said it continues to monitor the site.

"The province takes all spills seriously and is monitoring this incident to ensure that the environment is protected. The cleanup won't be finished until we are satisfied that the area is fully remediated," wrote George Heyman, minister of environment and climate change strategy.

In a statement, a BNSF spokeperson said the company has sampled surface water on both sides of the highway, and that the samples indicate that the spill has been contained to the affected railway ditch.

"Absorbent boom is in place and maintained to control migration and the effectiveness is confirmed by the sampling data," wrote the spokesperson. "All work is being conducted under direct oversight of the lead regulatory agency."

BNSF said it expects to begin removing affected soil within the next two weeks, pending permit approval from provincial agencies.

Still, residents like Patterson are waiting for answers as to why their ditches appear to be showing signs of contamination.

"I still see the hazardous materials guys over there, so there must be something going on," he said. "All this seems to be so hush hush."