Texas Company to Pay $12.2M to Hieltsuk Nation to Settle Tugboat Diesel Spill Impacts
The agreement requires the company to join a healing ceremony and give 90 days’ notice before entering Heiltsuk waters.
- On Monday, the Heiltsuk First Nation announced a $12.2 million settlement with a Texas-based cargo barge operator for the 2016 Nathan E. Stewart tugboat spill that damaged cultural and clam-harvesting grounds.
- The 2016 accident occurred when the Nathan E. Stewart ran aground on Oct. 13, 2016, spilling approximately 110,000 litres of diesel fuel and 2,000 litres of lubricant into prime harvesting grounds and polluting more than 350 km of coastline.
- Under the deal, the operator must participate in a traditional washing and healing ceremony and provide 90 days notice when transiting the nation's waters near Bella Bella.
- Heiltsuk elected Chief Marilyn Slett called the settlement "inadequate" in a Monday release, saying it exposes systemic failures in Canada's oil spill liability and compensation framework for Indigenous peoples.
- Slett called the federal government's absence from the agreement "glaring," especially considering Alberta's desire to build a pipeline near the area, which would require changes to regional tanker bans.
13 Articles
13 Articles
National Observer
The Hamilton SpectatorFirst Nation says federal government is absent after major spill settlement
Heiltsuk has secured a settlement over the 2016 Nathan E. Stewart spill, but the fight over who pays for damaged harvesting grounds and cultural losses is far from over.
Heiltsuk Nation reaches $12-million settlement over Inside Passage fuel spill
The Heiltsuk Nation has reached a $12.2 million settlement with the U.S. company whose tug ran aground in 2016 on B.C.’s central coast and spilled 110,000 litres of diesel, closing an important clam fishery and important cultural area.
Texas company to pay $12.2M to Hieltsuk Nation to settle tugboat diesel spill impacts - Creston Valley Advance
A Texas-based cargo barge operator has agreed to pay $12.2 million to settle with a B.C. First Nations for environmental damage from a 2016 tugboat diesel spill. The deal with the Heiltsuk First Nation, based in Bella Bella, requires the company to participate in a traditional washing and healing ceremony and to provide 90 days’ notice when transiting the nation’s waters. When the Nathan E. Stewart tug boat ran aground in the nation’s territory …
Texas company to pay $12.2M to Hieltsuk Nation to settle tugboat diesel spill impacts - Fort St. James Caledonia Courier
A Texas-based cargo barge operator has agreed to pay $12.2 million to settle with a B.C. First Nations for environmental damage from a 2016 tugboat diesel spill. The deal with the Heiltsuk First Nation, based in Bella Bella, requires the company to participate in a traditional washing and healing ceremony and to provide 90 days’ notice when transiting the nation’s waters. When the Nathan E. Stewart tug boat ran aground in the nation’s territory …
Texas company to pay $12.2M to Hieltsuk Nation to settle tugboat diesel spill impacts - Grand Forks Gazette
A Texas-based cargo barge operator has agreed to pay $12.2 million to settle with a B.C. First Nations for environmental damage from a 2016 tugboat diesel spill. The deal with the Heiltsuk First Nation, based in Bella Bella, requires the company to participate in a traditional washing and healing ceremony and to provide 90 days’ notice when transiting the nation’s waters. When the Nathan E. Stewart tug boat ran aground in the nation’s territory …
Texas company to pay $12.2M to Hieltsuk Nation to settle tugboat diesel spill impacts - Vanderhoof Omineca Express
A Texas-based cargo barge operator has agreed to pay $12.2 million to settle with a B.C. First Nations for environmental damage from a 2016 tugboat diesel spill. The deal with the Heiltsuk First Nation, based in Bella Bella, requires the company to participate in a traditional washing and healing ceremony and to provide 90 days’ notice when transiting the nation’s waters. When the Nathan E. Stewart tug boat ran aground in the nation’s territory …
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