On the morning of Friday, March 22, Bowen Island's municipal bylaw services officer Bonny Brokenshire was working with a colleague in Snug Cove near the Union Steamship Company Marina (USSC) when they were alerted to a "rainbow sheen on the water."
"We were working on maintenance and signage when we noticed an oil sheen on the water," she said. Brokenshire went to the USSC office. On the way, she encountered a "good samaritan" who had absorbent pads ready and helped to apply them.
In addition to the municipality, Bowen Island RCMP const. Bryan Mulrooney and the Coast Guard had been notified.
Dan Bate, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' communications officer, said that the Canadian Coast Guard received a report from a concerned citizen about the appearance of diesel on the water in the vicinity of the Union Steamship Marina. "The BC Ferry Queen of Capilano confirmed the appearance of a slick in the area later that morning. A local RCMP officer attended the scene to investigate," he said. "The Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft Siyay attended the scene and deployed absorbents. Surface sheening in the area was non-recoverable."
Bate added that Coast Guard officers spoke with the owner of the vessel [from which the oil originated] and estimate that less than five litres had been released from the bilge of a powerboat.
For diesel, marine spills of larger amounts need to be reported to the Provincial Emergency Program by the "person who had possession, charge or control of a substance immediately before its spill," according to the Spill Reporting Regulation of the Environmental Management Act.
"I understand that diesel fuel, even if it is a small amount, can spread very far," Brokenshire said, adding that the situation was complicated by the tide and, when the municipality's oil spill kit was applied, the sheen had spread a substantial distance.
"It was fairly windy as well," she said. "What was really upsetting for me was that I had been on the wharf this morning and observed several mallards and cormorants that were likely to be affected."
Brokenshire wanted to draw attention to the Provincial Emergency Program that has a 24-hour incident reporting hotline that can be reached at 1-800-663-3456.
