Several months after a leak from a sewage pond at an oil sands site began, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) orders Imperial Oil to take action to stop the contamination. Indigenous Nations have been denouncing for years the impacts of this industry on the environment and the lack of supervision by the authorities.
The extent of the spills from the “Kearl” mining site, located north of Fort McMurray, is not yet known. But what we do know is that as early as June 2022, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) had confirmed surface water contamination in the area. Then, on February 4, Imperial Oil reported an “overflow from an industrial wastewater storage pond,” ECCC says in a timeline of events. The volume spilled was preliminary estimated at 5.3 million litres.
The federal department was only informed a few days later of these incidents, and this, by representatives of the First Nations, and not by the AER. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault also expressed concern about the Alberta government’s silence, recalling that Alberta is supposed to inform the federal government of any release within 24 hours of reporting the incident.
In an “update” on the situation released on Monday, ECCC finally ordered Imperial Oil to take action to stop the leaks, after finding on March 8 that they are harmful to fish habitat, according to the provisions of the Fisheries Act.
“The order requires immediate action to be taken to contain the seepage and prevent it from entering fish-bearing waters. Ministry officials will return to the site over the next few days to verify the actions taken by Imperial,” the ministry said Monday.
Operation of the “Kearl” site, which began in 2013, should continue for several more years, since the sector’s potential is estimated at 4.6 billion barrels. The oil sands industry, which had been invited by the Trudeau government to plead its case at the most recent UN climate conference, does not see any decline in the coming years. In 2023, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers estimates industry investment in production at $11.5 billion.
Gaps
Recent leaks of toxic tailings from oil sands mines in northern Alberta have revealed serious flaws in how Canada and Alberta are protecting the environment, experts consulted by The Canadian Press. Everyone agrees that it is unthinkable that leaks from the tailings ponds of the Kearl mine have not been reported for nine months in Ottawa and Edmonton, as well as to people who live nearby.
“We never took this issue seriously,” laments Martin Olszynski, a law professor at the University of Calgary and a former federal lawyer responsible for regulating natural resources. “They never took these risks and threats seriously. »
“The biggest lesson from this is that the province exercises oversight and control over the information the federal government receives,” comments Mandy Olsgard, a toxicologist who has worked on regulatory issues for the Alberta Energy Regulator and Indigenous groups. .
Spills allowed?
Representatives of First Nations and Environmental Defense Canada have also denounced in recent months the Trudeau government’s desire to develop regulations that would allow the oil sands industry to discharge wastewater from oil production, once it has undergone a treatment that remains to be determined.
In concrete terms, the federal government is currently developing regulations that would allow the oil industry to solve a problem that has been growing day by day for decades: the settling ponds for the water generated by the treatment of oil sands at the time of their exploitation on Albertan soil.
These many basins, which represent real lakes containing water laden with heavy metals, acid residues and other toxic compounds, cover an area of nearly 300 km2, which includes the areas associated with the basins, and a volume of 1400 billion liters, according to Environmental Defence.
The industry, which still plans to produce oil from the oil sands for several years, is therefore seeking to get rid of the liquids accumulated over time. The option preferred by the companies and by the federal government would be to treat this water, before discharging it into the Athabasca River and other waterways. This, however, involves developing regulations to override the Fisheries Act, which currently prohibits such discharges due to risks to fish habitat.