Peace River Oilsands Odours Hearings To Start

From: Huffington Post 

By The Canadian Press

Hearings to start on Peace River oilsands odours. | Bloomberg via Getty Images 

 

 

 

 

PEACE RIVER, Alta. - Hearings are scheduled to begin this week on odours blamed on oilsands operations that have driven northern Alberta families off their land and at least one of the affected farmers hopes it will all wind up with tougher rules against bad smells.

"The best result possible is that they make some regulations to get companies to capture their vapours," said Alain Labrecque, who's had to leave the farm his father pioneered over pungent smells that he says are destroying the health of his wife and children.

The hearings, scheduled to begin in Peace River on Tuesday, were called last fall by Alberta's energy regulator after repeated complaints from families in the tiny communities of Three Creeks and Reno.

In an affidavit filed with the regulator, Labrecque complained of powerful, gassy smells and symptoms including severe headaches, dizziness, sinus congestion, muscle spasms, popping ears, memory loss, numbness, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, eye twitching and fatigue.

All those symptoms began in 2011, after Baytex Energy purchased 46 wells in the area.

 

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