Progress is often very rapid in the oil sands industry, so I
thought it may be useful to take stock of the significant progress
driving the environmental evolution of the oil sands industry. You
may remember the recent changes required to oil sands tailings
technology and management as a result of ERCB Directive 74. The
Government of Alberta has recently followed up by revamping the oil
sands mining reclamation and liability management programs. This
blog post is my way of congratulating our government here in
Alberta on a job well done. The program changes reclamation
reporting by boosting the number of milestones used to track
reclamation and increasing the transparency of the reporting of
reclamation progress. Beyond this, the liability management was
also increased by requiring an upfront payment when the risk of
mine closure or abandonment is at a minimum (and its resource
potential is at a maximum) followed by full financial security
collected later in the mines life - but before assets are
completely reduced. As has always been the case in Alberta, no
matter if oil sands resources are developed using mining or in-situ
(drillable) technologies, you simply cannot leave a mess behind
reclamation is and always has been a responsibility of the
industry. In Alberta, reclamation is the law. One hundred per cent
of the land developed by oil sands producers will, and must, be
reclaimed. Water monitoring in the oil sands region is another
issue that has engendered recent criticism. The Government of
Alberta has responded by appointing a blue ribbon panel to create a
robust, credible and transparent environmental monitoring,
evaluation and reporting system in the province, beginning with the
oil sands region. As we have discussed, I believe there has already
been a lot of good data collected by the monitoring programs in the
region; nevertheless, I look forward to the enhanced monitoring
program and am certain that it will provide added benefit by
integrating monitoring across all media (i.e. air, land, water and
biodiversity). Finally, one last kudos ... the Government of
Alberta has also recently announced one of the most proactive and
integrated cumulative effects management systems that I know of
anywhere in the world. The Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (LARP)
includes the setting aside of 17 per cent of northeast Alberta (an
area larger than the combined total of Banff and Jasper National
Parks), including the potential claw-back of some oil sands leases.
This is over and above the 20 per cent of northeast Alberta that
has already been set aside via Wood Buffalo National Park (which by
itself is nine times larger that the total area of the surface
minable oil sands). I think this is a step towards balanced
land-use planning and cumulative effects management in Alberta. The
citizens of Alberta have been asking for this, and the government
has responded by providing stable policies and regulatory decisions
that will benefit the province and our industry long into the
future. I know of no area in the world where this much land has
been set aside to offset resource development activities. In the
end this plan could conserve more than two million hectares of
habitat for native species and increase recreation and tourism
opportunities. As well, the LARP puts strict, science based
environmental limits in place for the management of regional scale
cumulative effects on air, land disturbance, water and
biodiversity. Does this mean that all of the issues with respect to
this plan are resolved? Of course not. Industry looks forward to
working with government to define details of compensation for oil
sands leases that may be cancelled, issues impacting investment
certainty and the workings of the environmental management tools
that have been introduced. I am, however, confident that government
and industry will be able to resolve these issues in a manner that
is in the overall best interest of the people of Alberta.
Manufacturing - whether it is oil, clothing, agriculture or any
other product that supports our way of life - has an impact on the
environment. This is why it is crucial to have a deep understanding
of what is taking place, the impacts we are having and how we can
further protect the environment. The oil sands industry understands
that we must all work together to monitor as wholly as possible,
deliver tranparent results and meet the expectations of the public.
Allwhile continuing to provide a secure and reliable energy source
and the economic benefits that have been described as a job
creation engine for Canada. The province and industry are serious
about environmental management in the oil sands, and I don't know
of any other region on earth that now has as all-encompassing and
holistic a suite of environmental management programs as will be in
place in the oil sands region of Alberta. I would like to challenge
anybody reading the blog who does believe there is, to leave a
comment below. I would love to hear about it.
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