PDF version: Bill 16, 2011: Alberta Paves the Way for Cleaner Coal with In Situ Coal Gasification

Legislation commented on: Bill 16 - Energy Statutes Amendment Act, 2011

On 13 May 2011, the Legislative Assembly of Alberta passed the Energy Statutes Amendment Act (”Bill 16, 2011″). Bill 16, 2011 amends the following acts: the Alberta Utilities Commission Act, RSA 2007, c A-37.2, the Coal Conservation Act (CCA), RSA 2000, c C-17, the Electric Utilities Act, RSA 2003, c E-5.1, the Gas Utilities Act, RSA 2000, c G-5, the Oil and Gas Conservation Act (OGCA), RSA 2000, c O-6, the Oil Sands Conservation Act (OSCA), RSA 2000, c O-7, and the Pipeline Act (PA), RSA, c P-15. The amendments entered into force on 13 May 2011.

Bill 16, 2011 implements two central amendments to the regulatory regime of the above mentioned energy laws. The first amendment removes the Industrial Development Permit (IDP) legislation (see ERCB Bulletin 2010-42). In short, section 51 of the CCA, section 111 of the OGCA and section 27 of the OSCA cancel existing IDPs. The general repeal of these provisions makes it unnecessary to apply for an IDP in the future. See previous post by Nigel Bankes here. The second amendment clarifies the ERCB’s authority to regulate in situ coal development and sets out the requirements for in situ coal projects (see ERCB Bulletin 2009-36).

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PDF version: Cleaning up Coal

Regulations commented on: Federal Draft Regulations “Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-Fired Generation of Electricity Regulations” as of 27 August 2011

On 27 August 2011 the federal government published proposed regulations on the “Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-Fired Generation of Electricity” (the “Regulations”). The Regulations are open for comments for a 60-day public consultation period. The final Regulations will be published next year.

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