Imperial Oil penalized $120K for substantial wastewater spill near Fort McMurray

Imperial Oil has been penalized $120,000 for a wastewater spill at its Kearl oilsands mine near Fort McMurray, Alta. Alberta’s energy regulator laid nine charges against the company last year in connection to the 2023 spill, which saw about 5.2 million litres of wastewater overflow from a drainage pond. An agreed statement of facts shared Thursday by the regulator says the company agreed to plead guilty last month to one of the offences: releasing substances from the mine to the surrounding watershed without approval. The other charges were withdrawn. They included failing to report the spill …