ELC Submission regarding Nexen Inc. Water Act Notice of Application

The Environmental Law Centre has posted its statement of concern to Alberta Environment regarding the applications of Nexen under the Water Act to build a water pipeline to the Long Lake Project from the Clearwater River.  

The project proposed by Nexen at this time significantly differs from the original project. Accordingly, this is an important opportunity for the Minister to re-consider, using the powers under the Water Act whether the project is still in the public interest.  Moreover, this is an important opportunity for the Director to consider whether there is sufficient information on environmental effects, and whether the potential environmental impact merits rejection of the application in light of the difference between this proposal and the original application made to the ERCB.

Posted August 31, 2010 by AEN

National pollutant data finally released, sort of

Following the recent release of new mining pollution data — compelled by a lawsuit by MiningWatch Canada & Great Lakes United — the Environmental Law Centre's Laura Bowman posts on the "sorry state of access to pollution data in Canada":

The question remains, does anyone even know the environmental impact from spills and routine releases from industry and municipalities in Canada? Is it even possible for anyone to find out if there are reporting and access to information barriers?

Posted August 16, 2010 by AEN

Capital Power and broken promises

The Pembina Institute's Chris Severson-Baker posts on Capital Power's application to renege on a commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions at their Genesee 3 coal-fired power plant. The commitment was part of the original approval to build the power plant.

…allowing companies to renege on environmental commitments made at public hearings once projects are operating would be set a dangerous precedent and completely undermine the credibility of the Alberta approvals process.

Posted July 23, 2010 by AEN

Accountability & Transparency in Managing Alberta's Environment

Accountability and transparency are essential principles of democracy, but when it comes to managing Alberta's environment they can sometimes be in short supply. The Environmental Law Centre's Jason Unger discusses accountability in the regulatory approval process, the lack of a legal remedy to address broken promises, and proposes two legislative changes to address the issue.

The word “accountable”, meaning “responsible; answerable” (Black’s Law dictionary 9th ed.), evokes the idea that we must pay the piper for unmet promises…

  

…It seems, however, that accountability for environmental impacts and decisions related to them are becoming increasingly elusive.

The Pembina Institute's Nathan Lemphers goes on a quest in search of emergency preparedness plans in case of a oil sands tailings lake breach, and finds only secrecy and a lack of transparency.

Communities downstream of the oil sands are already skeptical about whether the Government of Alberta and oil sands operators are diligently managing the impacts and risks associated with oil sands development…

…A lack of transparency around tailings management is only adding to the skepticism and concerns.

Posted July 21, 2010 by AEN