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The MLA for the area near a pipeline spill in northern Alberta is calling on the company responsible to speak directly to the residents affected.
Earlier this week, 4.5 million litres of crude oil spilled out of Plains Midstream Canada's Rainbow pipeline near Peace River, Alta. The 44-year-old pipeline runs 772 kilometres from Zama, Alta., to Edmonton. The spill killed seven beavers, seven ducks and one migratory bird.
Lesser Slave Lake MLA Pearl Calahasen says her constituents in nearby Little Buffalo, Alta., are still fearful of what the effects of the spill might be.
A school in Little Buffalo, about 30 kilometres from the spill, has been closed for a week. People living in the area have reported getting headaches, feeling nauseous and smelling a strong petroleum odour.
Calahasen urged the Calgary-based company to offer residents an explanation.
"They've been notified generally but they don't know the specifics and I think that's what they would like to hear … just so that they're very comfortable as to what's happening on the cleanup," she said.
"I think that's a very vital component — what's going to happen on the cleanup and what is the residual effect of their lives."
Calahasen wants the meeting to happen well before the pipeline is put back in service.
Plains Midstream Canada has applied to the ERCB to reopen the line but a spokesperson for the regulator said investigators are still analyzing the section of broken pipeline.
Meanwhile, members of the Lubicon First Nation say the spill should be cleaned up entirely before oil starts flowing through the pipeline again.
The 28,000 barrels of crude oil were spilled on Lubicon traditional territory.
Band councillor Bryan Laboucan is worried the pipeline could fail again.
"They were saying they could reopen it at any time they want now as long as it meets its integration tests," he said. "What if it happens a few miles away again? They should finish this cleaning up right to the end, and then open the lines."
Plains Midstream Canada president David Duckett has apologized for the company's handling of communications about the spill.
Environment minister Rob Renner said he will likely visit the site within the next week.
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