Category Archives: Environmental

Bill 12: A Small Step Forward in Managing Orphan Liabilities in Alberta

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: Bill 12: A Small Step Forward in Managing Orphan Liabilities in Alberta

Matter Commented On: Bill 12, Liabilities Management Statutes Amendment Act, 2020

Bill 12 addresses some issues related to the province’s orphan fund and the responsibilities of the Orphan Well Association (OWA). While my overall conclusion is that the Bill is to be welcomed, the procedure under which the Bill was adopted was unfortunate. Furthermore, while the Bill does plug some gaps and extends the authority of the OWA and the orphan fund in helpful ways, the Bill is most notable for what it doesn’t address. In particular, it does not address the systemic drivers of the growing orphan liability problem in the province. Continue reading →

More Competition For Underground Disposal Space

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: More Competition For Underground Disposal Space

Decisions Commented On: 2020 ABAER 005, Pure Environmental Waste Management Ltd. Applications for the Hangingstone Project February 27, 2020 and 2020 ABAER 004, Pure Environmental Waste Management Ltd. Regulatory Appeal of Approval WM 211 for Pure Environmental Waste Management Ltd.’s Hangingstone Facility February 27, 2020

Conventional and non-conventional oil and gas operations frequently seek to dispose of liquid oilfield waste in underground formations that have suitable injectivity and sealing properties. Not all formations are suitable for injection purposes and even those that are suitable may have limited capacity, especially where the characteristics of the formation limit opportunities for pressure leakoff. Locally limited capacity or scarcity may lead to competition for the available disposal capacity.

These two decisions (and especially 2020 ABAER 005) address the licensing of disposal wells in such a competitive setting. These are not the first such examples we have seen in Alberta. I commented on an earlier AER decision (2014) on a disposal well application here. See also Bankes, “Disputes between the owners of different sub-surface resources” in Don Zillman et al (eds), The Law of Energy Underground (Oxford University Press, 2014) p 433. Continue reading →

COVID-19 and the Suspension of Routine Environmental Reporting in Alberta

By: Shaun Fluker

PDF Version: COVID-19 and the Suspension of Routine Environmental Reporting in Alberta

Orders Commented On: Ministerial Orders 15/2020, 16/2020, 17/2020 (Environment and Parks)

Section 52.1 of the Public Health Act, RSA 2000, c P-37 provides a minister with power to suspend or modify the application of legislation which they are responsible for under the Government Organization Act, RSA 2000, c G-10. This post looks at 3 ministerial orders made by the Minister of Environment and Parks this week under section 52.1 which suspend certain reporting requirements under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, RSA 2000 c E-12, the Water Act, RSA 2000 c W-3, the Public Lands Act, RSA 2000, c P-40, the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation, Alta Reg 133/2019, and the Renewable Fuels Standard Regulation, Alta Reg 29/2010, on the basis that these reporting obligations are not in the public interest during the COVID-19 public health emergency. These orders, together with other public health orders issued by Alberta during this crisis, are published here.

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Clearing the Air on Teck Frontier (Extended ABlawg Edition)

By: Andrew Leach and Martin Olszynski

PDF Version: Clearing the Air on Teck Frontier (Extended ABlawg Edition)

Decision Commented On: Teck Resources Limited, Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project, Fort McMurray Area, 2019 ABAER 008/CEAA Reference No. 65505

A lot of ink is currently being spilled over the federal government’s upcoming decision to approve – or not – Teck Resources’ Frontier oil sands mine project. Premier Jason Kenney and members of his Cabinet insist that the Frontier project is critical to Alberta’s economic prosperity. The Mining Association of Canada’s Pierre Graton stresses that Teck completed a “world-class, independent and rigorous assessment” and that the project was determined to be in the public interest by the joint review panel (JRP) that reviewed it. Environmental groups argue that approval is fundamentally inconsistent with Canada’s climate change commitments. The project is being framed as both a test of Prime Minister Trudeau’s resolve to combat climate change and a referendum on the federal government’s support for Alberta’s economic interests and its commitment to national unity.

Our purpose here is not to take sides but rather to lay out the facts and relevant legal context as clearly as possible so that Albertans and indeed all Canadians can come to their own informed views about the desirability, or not, of this project and what, if any, larger importance to attach to the federal Cabinet’s eventual decision. Continue reading →

Draft Strategic Assessment of Climate Change: Big Steps for Impact Assessment, Baby Steps for Climate Change

By: David V. Wright

PDF Version: Draft Strategic Assessment of Climate Change: Big Steps for Impact Assessment, Baby Steps for Climate Change

Document Commented On: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Draft Strategic Assessment of Climate Change

Earlier this year, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) released draft guidance for the climate change related requirements in the new federal Impact Assessment Act (S.C. 2019, c. 28, s. 1) (IAA or the Act). While the future of this guidance was uncertain in recent months due to the federal election, as was the future of the entire new regime, the Act is now firmly in force and here to stay. No amendments are expected, as stated by the new federal environment minister. As part of implementing the regime, the new Impact Assessment Agency (the Agency) is now in the process of issuing detailed guidance explaining what information proponents should provide during the planning and assessment phases, including with respect to initial and detailed project descriptions, engagement with Indigenous communities, public participation, and climate change. The final climate change guidance, which ECCC has developed through what it calls a Strategic Assessment on Climate Change (SACC), is expected in early 2020.

This post focuses on the draft SACC. Specifically, I provide relevant background, explain the general threshold-based structure of the proposed regime, and then offer commentary on several key features and one missing piece. Overall, this draft guidance takes a significant step in the right direction by providing details and parameters that should be welcomed by project proponents and those interested in seeing clarity regarding quantification of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) in impact assessment. This is no small feat in the impact assessment realm where integration of climate change considerations has been a challenge for many years across the world. However, in several ways the guidance does not go far enough, particularly in terms of relating project-specific emissions analysis with what really matters: achieving Canada’s climate change commitments and avoiding severe climate change-induced damage on a global scale. As the 25th Conference of the parties (“COP 25”) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change draws to a close in Madrid, the world is watching. It is not too late for Canada to further clarify how emissions from major projects reviewed under the IAA will fit into the path toward achieving Canada’s targets under the Paris Agreement and achieving the recently announced commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which has just been included in the mandate letter released today to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Continue reading →