'Anything that is recoverable, will be': Husky oil spill clean-up resumes

Efforts to complete clean-up of last July's Husky oil spill will resume Monday. 

Authorities will continue to monitor the shorelines of the North Saskatchewan River and remove oil from any impacted areas as they are discovered. 

​The spill was discovered July 21. By then, approximately 225,000 litres had already spilled.

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Before cleaning had stopped last year, approximately 210,000 litres had been accounted for and cleaned, according to Wes Kotyk, assistant deputy minister with the Saskatchewan government's environmental protection division.

One area located approximately 18.5 kilometres from the origin area of the spill has been identified as needing attention, Kotyk said. 

We haven't been made aware of any new impacts to wildlife.- Wes Kotyk, assistant deputy minister, environmental protection division

"They will go as far [down river] as until they identify that there is no more impacts," Kotyk said.

"Anything that is recoverable, will be," he said of the potential remaining oil. 

An additional wildlife assessment will be conducted, as well as community engagement. 

"We haven't been made aware of any new impacts to wildlife," he said.

A submerged and sunken oil group will be part of clean-up efforts this year. The group will conduct a study "to determine where, and if and how much [oil] there is, and then to determine how best to recover that, if it is recoverable even," said Kotyk.

Costs associated with reclamation is Husky's responsibility, Kotyk said. The province is responsible for oversight and monitoring of the situation. 

The spill affected the drinking water of nearby communities, such as Prince Albert and North Battleford, as well as seeped onto the shores of the James Smith Cree Nation. 

More than a week before the spill was discovered, there was substantial rainfall, which is thought to have contributed to a ground shift that caused an inland pipeline to begin leaking.

Approximately 60 per cent of the spill was contained on the ground.