Syncrude has been hit with an environmental protection order from the Alberta Energy Regulator after 30 blue heron deaths at one of the Syncrude facilities. The order shows that the company must immediately comply with the requests, and they must provide an aerial picture of the site of the accident to the regulator. The aerial photo must show any monitoring wells, and provide the agency with information on the capacity of the sumps where the blue herons were located when they were found. The company also has to collect sump samples, and test the area as well. The sample locations must be provided along with the samples. Syncrude must make daily reports, to the public and to the director, and these must be posted by 3pm until the regulator decides differently.

The environmental protection order against Syncrude is part of the investigation into the blue heron deaths. When a company found the first blue heron the bird was alive and covered in bitumen, and it had to be euthanized. When employees searched further they found the bodies of 29 dead blue herons as well. Bob Curran, the AER spokesperson, said “There’s a variety of things they put in place to prevent these types of cases. However, the company also has a responsibility to make sure the site is not negatively impacting wildlife. They have an obligation to make sure the site is safe.” Mark Ward, the CEO for Syncrude, said “I want to assure Canadians we will take the time necessary to conduct a very thorough investigation. Our organization and our employees are completely committed to finding out what happened and addressing it.”