About 350 ducks had to be euthanized earlier this week after they landed on a Syncrude tailings pond in Alberta and were covered with oil. The same thing occurred in 2008, but in that incident more than 1,600 ducks died after landing in the toxic sludge.

Syncrude's waterfowl deterrent system, consisting of flashing lights and air horns, did not save the lives of the ducks. The fowl may have become disoriented and exhausted while flying through a storm.

The tailings ponds at Syncrude and other Alberta oil companies are directly in the path of migratory bird patterns. Other animals like moose and bears die daily in the toxin-filled ponds.

Early last year, Alberta's Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) implemented Directive 74, which requires oil companies to gradually reduce the tailings ponds over the life of an oil sands project. But environmental experts say the board has been dragging its feet in enforcing the directive's regulations.

As long as the wet ponds are not replaced with dry tailings, wildlife will continue to perish in the oil. Tell the ERCB to enforce Directive 74 so that tailings ponds are eliminated sooner than later.

Photo credit: Grant Neufeld