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It\u2019s been eight days since Suncor\u2019s Sarnia refinery reported an oil spill into the St. Clair River, and it remains unclear what caused the pipeline leak, how much got into the water \u2014 and where cleanup efforts are at.<\/p>\n
The company said the leak was discovered around 6 p.m. Mar. 11 as part of \u201cregular monitoring,\u201d and that it was contained with booms and vacuum equipment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a brief statement Thursday, Suncor said that early investigation “indicates that the source of the release may be third party pipeline infrastructure.\u00a0“<\/p>\n
Its fence line is beside Aamjiwnaang First Nation, where more than 1,000 people live. Another 1,600 non-residents are members of the band.<\/p>\n
Chief Janelle Nahmabin feels like they are being kept in the dark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole community is wondering what are the next steps,\u201d Nahmabin told CBC News Thursday. \u201cThere is a lack of communication. The best path forward that we see is that we form some kind of communication strategy, some kind of a relationship agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Aamjiwnaang](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774013711_489_default.jpg\")
Aamjiwnaang First Nation is in southwestern Ontario along the St. Clair River. (Brandon VandeCaveye\/Brandon David Photography via Aamjiwnaang First Nation’s website)<\/p>\n
Nahmabin says the band leadership held a community meeting Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re going to continue to demand accountability and answers to outstanding questions. I don’t understand why we haven’t been informed of \u2026 the amount, how large the spill. None of those things have been communicated to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nahmabin is also calling for truck traffic to be diverted around the reserve, as she expects an increase because of the affected pipeline.<\/p>\n
Ontario\u2019s environment ministry says Suncor remains responsible for cleanup activities \u2014 and that no downstream effects were expected to the river or municipal water system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nahmabin says she\u2019s received one phone call from Suncor. However, she would prefer email correspondence in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to make sure that we’re receiving all of the correct information and [it’s] important for us to keep that communication in mind from all parties to leadership, as well as our emergency control group internally.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Chief](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774013711_22_default.jpg\")
Janelle Nahmabin is Aamjiwnaang First Nation’s chief. (CBC)<\/p>\n
According to Nahmabin, Aamjiwnaang has its own pipeline permit policy that was established to recognize gaps and lack of maintenance and environmental oversight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to address those gaps \u2026 Having our own internal permit policy helps us understand how many pipelines run through our community, so that we can be aware of maintenance schedules and when the access is needed to maintain those lines. We’re wanting to work with all parties so we can address these gaps.\u201d<\/p>\n
LISTEN | Air pollution in Aamjiwnaang sparks call for Ontario to change ‘broken’ policy:<\/p>\n
Afternoon Drive5:39Air pollution in Aamjiwnaang sparks call for Ontario to change ‘broken’ policy<\/p>\n
The federal government says Ontario\u2019s environment ministry is leading the response, as it relates to technical and scientific advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnvironment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) takes pollution incidents and threats to the environment very seriously,\u201d spokesperson Hannah Boonstra said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf enforcement officers find evidence of an alleged violation, they will take appropriate action in accordance with the compliance and enforcement policy for habitat and pollution provisions of [the] Fisheries Act.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-549068","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}