Environmental Emergency Management Program

CN Rail Thompson River Coal Spill (Lytton)

Derailed car and spilled coal on the bank of the Thompson River

Location

Thompson River, near Lytton, BC.

Time and Date of Incident

July 31, 2006 - approximately 23:00 hours

Product/Quantity Spilled ¹

800 tonnes of metallurgical coal are estimated to have been dumped into the river.

Cause of Spill

The spill was due to a train derailment on a CN Railway line (the train was a CP Rail train). A total of twenty cars derailed, with eight remaining on the bridge structure and twelve falling into the Thompson River. Each of the railcars had a capacity of 120 tonnes.

Environmental Setting and Impacts

The spill occurred during the late summer sockeye and chinook salmon run. No significant impacts were noted on fish. A “no consumption” advisory was released by Fisheries and Oceans Canada that was later rescinded. Rafting companies in area were also affected. The formal Environmental Impact Assessment report (EIA) will be released once cleanup is complete and all data is collected.

Response Participants:

Responsible Party ²

Canadian National Railway (CN Rail) / Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR train on CNR line)

Lead Agencies ³

Federal: Environment Canada, Transport Canada, Health Canada, Fisheries & Oceans Canada

Provincial: Ministry of Environment

First Nations: Lytton First Nation

Primary Participating Contractors and other Agencies

CN Rail & CP Rail contractors

First Nations Emergency Services Society

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

Response Summary/Closure

CN Rail, as owner of the rail line and responsible party, established an Incident Command Post (ICP) at the CN office on River Road in Lytton. An Incident Management Team was set up to deal with the emergency. Rail cars were removed from the bridge and an advisory notice was issued to avoid consumption of fish in the area until an analysis of samples was completed. CPR took control of the recovery of spilled coal and environmental issues, including the preparation of the EIA. The removal of coal and rail cars from the river will be completed in the near future.

News Releases and Information Bulletins

Information Bulletin – August 3, 2006

Footnotes

1. Conversions	1 barrel = 42 US gallons = O.16 cubic metres 1 cubic meter = 6.29 barrels = 264 US gallons = 1,000 litres 1 tonne = 7 barrels 1 nautical miles = 1.85 kilometers Note: volume and mass relationships vary with density of product.
2. Responsible Party	Responsible Party (RP) refers an agency or company taking responsibility for impact mitigation (e.g. cleanup, response management) as a possible consequence of their actions or that of a third party. Generally referred to as either the spiller or polluter.
3. Lead Agencies	Agencies that have jurisdictional (federal, provincial, local governments, and First Nations) or functional (Fire, Police, Ambulance) command roles in managing the incident. The designation of the lead agency may be based on legislation, an interagency agreement, a Cabinet decision and/or custom or precedent. There can be more than one lead agency represented under a unified command, as well as the Responsible Party.