Question Period Note: Kearl Oil Sands Seepage

Kearl Oil Sands Seepage

• An open and collaborative approach between all parties is needed to rebuild trust and facilitate better outcomes for the long-term management of tailings.

• To restore trust and give transparency to all parties, a joint federal-provincial-Indigenous working group, with participation from the oil companies, is proposed with a focus on remediation and containment plans, and improvements to the notification systems for ongoing incidents of spill or seepage.

• This enforcement file is in the inspection stage. Enforcement officers will continue to attend the site to monitor the cleanup, collect more inspection information to determine Fisheries Act compliance and will stay engaged with the Alberta Energy Regulator and Imperial.

• In early February, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) was notified that Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) issued a provincial order under section 113 and 241 of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act to Imperial Oil Resources Limited (Imperial) related to the Kearl Oil Sands Processing Plant and Mine. The order relates to discoloured surface water (the substance) found at locations both on-site and off-site of the site boundary which was reported by Imperial to the AER on May 19, 2022. The Order requires Imperial to outline the short-term actions they will take to effectively intercept, contain, and mitigate the Substance from impacting the surrounding environment.

• The AER had the immediate jurisdiction to assess the initial report and they subsequently issued the Order. As the Order notes, the impacted area is in proximity to a fish-bearing waterbody. This activated a response from ECCC. Environmental enforcement officers conducted an on-site inspection, gathering information and collecting samples. These samples are now with an ECCC laboratory for analysis.

• Enforcement officers will continue to attend the site to monitor the cleanup, collect more inspection information to determine Fisheries Act compliance, stay engaged with the AER and Imperial.

• Under the current regulatory regime, the Department can take enforcement action if the contamination can be proven to be deleterious to fish and traced to the specific tailing pond. There are currently no Fisheries Act regulations authorizing releases of effluent from oil sands mines. The Department is considering the development of future regulations in collaboration with Indigenous communities, through the Crown Indigenous Working Group.

• Enforcement Branch is also in direct communication with Indigenous communities who have been contacting the Regional Director of the Environmental Enforcement Division in Prairie and Northern Region.

• Environment and Climate Change Canada was made aware of the seepage on February 7, 2023, after the Alberta Energy Regulator publicly posted their emergency order against Imperial Oil for immediate action. We will be working with the Province to address any issues with the notification system and improve it.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada conducts monitoring and research to improve our understanding of the environment and respond to the program, regulatory and policy needs of the department and the Government of Canada. This scientific work is highly collaborative, in partnership with provinces and territories, Indigenous groups, and others. Relevant to the oil sands area, the department undertakes ambient monitoring of the aquatic ecosystem as part of its national programs (e.g., Long-Term Water Quality Monitoring), and in partnership with regionally specific initiatives such as the Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) Program.
• Since February 2012, and with a renewed commitment in December 2017, the governments of Alberta and Canada have worked in partnership to implement an environmental monitoring program for the oil sands region of Alberta through the Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) Program. The Program is co-led by the two governments together with partners from Indigenous communities and industry in the oil sands region. The OSM Program funds and undertakes ambient environmental monitoring to improve the characterization of the condition of the environment and enhance the understanding of impacts and cumulative effects related to oil sands development.

A leak of tailings pond water, first reported to the Alberta Energy Regulator in May 2022, is now the subject of ECCC inspections as per the Fisheries Act.