Bowness residents lament slow progress at gas leak site

A court-ordered deadline to clean up the Calgary site where 9,000 litres of gas spilled into the surrounding soil in Bowness three years ago has passed, and people who live nearby say there is little evidence that the cleanup had even started.

'It may not look like it to the residents, but we are committed to completing this task.' — Gas Plus president Sal Handel

Neighbour Andy Ross says he is tired of looking at an idle bulldozer that sits within a fenced area on the corner of Bowness Road and 63rd Street N.W.

"We never see the heavy equipment operating," he said. "We never see a hole in the ground of any significant size."

But Barry Ciccone with Curtis Associates says his firm has hauled more than two million kilograms of soil and 200,000 litres of water off the property.

"We're treating the groundwater as well, that takes a bit longer," he said.

Gas Plus president Sal Handel says he has spent more than $3 million to complete the work.

"We've been working very hard at this," he said. "It may not look like it to the residents, but we are committed to completing this task."

A report on the status of the cleanup will be made public later this month.