November 28, 2012
WEDNESDAY
www.estevanmercury.ca Issue 30
December Edition Of Pipeline News Inside
National Child Day Recognized
⇢ A8
Concerns about movement of sour crude have come to light at the transloading facility just west of Bienfait. The terminal sits about a kilometre away from Weldon elementary school and is ready to transload sour crude, which contains hydrogen sulfide.
Big Wreck Back On The Road
⇢ A3
Concern over sour crude loading Concern over what is being transloaded at the terminal just west of Bienfait was brought to the forefront last week. The facility, run by Watco Terminal and Port Services, an American transport company based out of Pittsburg, Kan., and Canadian National Railway (CN), is prepared to begin transloading sour crude. The facility has been used to transload sweet crude since February, but
The Mercury was contacted by an individual, who wished to remain anonymous, who said given its proximity to Bienfait’s Weldon elementary school, sour crude should not be a product that goes through that area. “When I heard that I thought, ‘Wait a second. You guys can’t do that, you’re only a kilometre away from a school.’ That school is too damn close in my opinion.�
The caller has 20 years of experience in the oilfield and suggested a safe distance for the facility would be a minimum of three kilometres from the school. “If anything bleeds out there, it’s going to directly impact that school,� the person added. According to the source, something as benign as an improperly closed valve could lead to a leak of hydrogen sulfide gas. The concerns stem
from the systems used in the transload process, which they said aren’t 100 per cent sealed. “They can’t have a full-sealed unit while top loading,� the caller said. Bottom loading is different, but they added that CN won’t allow bottom loading. Warren Chandler, a media representative for CN, said the company does do all of their loading from the top.
“It’s safer to load from the top,â€? he said, noting it’s more difficult to load from the bottom. The caller said the transloading facility is in a good location, outside of Bienfait, but that changed when they started dealing with sour gas, which he called “a different ball game.â€? When setting up the Bienfait facility for transloading, CN said the site was Bienfait⇢A2
Animal shelter at max capacity Bruins Squander Opportunity
⇢ B1
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WEATHER & INDEX
Marlene Moore echoed the refrain from the closing moments of each episode of The Price is Right, “Spay and neuter your pets.� The Estevan Humane Society is bursting at the seams with cats and dogs, and it isn’t a new phenomenon. Moore, the humane society’s president, said they’ve been at full capacity since about June. The organization is now asking people to house stray animals they find for a couple of weeks, in the hopes that more space opens up at the shelter. “At one point it’s good because we had very few dogs last winter,� said Moore, noting they never had more than about seven. “What has happened is that people are coming to Estevan, and they can’t find a place to live, let alone keep their dog, and some of them just let them go.� She said they had 40 kittens at one point, and they are still dealing with an
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The Estevan Humane Society Shelter has been full since June. The society is asking anyone who finds a stray to care for a few weeks until the situation improves at the shelter. overload of kittens. Moore made it clear the shelter is right full, saying they have kittens running all over the place. “Some of them, the manager Judy Martin, has nursed from about two or three days after birth. She had three little ones come
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She noted they have a few dogs that have been in the shelter since the summer and hope that soon they could be adopted. “I’ve only been with the humane society for four years, and over the summertime you always get a lot of kittens coming in,
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in like that. She fed them from a bottle and they’re up running around now.� Moore said they are asking people who find a stray cat or dog to shelter it for a few weeks if they can. “If they can look after them for a bit, that would be a big plus for us.�
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but we’ve never had it this full. Not in my duration with the shelter. If people would spay and neuter their pets, we wouldn’t have this problem,� she added. She also said staffing at the shelter is a big problem they are dealing with. They are always looking for more. “We have a really tough time getting good staff that stay and are reliable. For anybody that’s interested in coming down for the weekends,� she asks them to contact the shelter. Interested people would be taken through the rooms and shown what to do, which includes cleaning the dishes and sterilizing them each day, as well as cleaning out the litter. “Anybody that can help do that on the weekend would be a huge help.� Moore noted they do pay all their employees. Those interested in working at the shelter may contact the humane society at 6343444.
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