(Picture: from ACFN News Release)
The province says a sheen on the Athabasca River shown in pictures released by a local First Nation is most likely natural.
The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation called it an oil spill in a media release on Sunday.
Environment and Sustainable Resource Development sent a helicopter along the river for about 150 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, and found no evidence of any spill.
The only thing it did find was some silt, which is a naturally occurring sediment.
It also asked industry sites to check for any leaks; none were found.
Several environmental groups have reported the spill to be true.
It was initially reported to be five kilometres long, then in later reports was called 40 kilometres long, before eventually the ACFN’s Chief Allan Adam claimed it was 100 kilometres long.
Adam called it a “toxic threat,” although he only saw the sheen from an airplane.
The municipality says it did shut down Fort Chip’s water treatment plant as a precaution, but had more than enough reserves, meaning there was never any danger to people in the area.
