Suncor given deadline to fix wastewater pond

EDMONTON – The Alberta government has given Suncor one month to fix problems with one of its wastewater treatment ponds.

The deadline comes after water from the pond failed a toxicity test, two years after the problem was discovered.

Suncor was initially prohibited from allowing treated wastewater from the pond back into the Athabasca River in March 2011.

The provincial environment department says it has been working with the company to fix the problem, but the pond’s water was recently found to be so toxic it killed trout fingerlings in laboratory tests.

Suncor has until the end of April to determine the source of the toxins.

The prohibition on releasing water into the Athabasca remains in place.