Implementing the plan, oil sands monitoring annual report 2012 to 2013
Implementing the plan
Environment Canada and Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development have worked collaboratively since the announcement of the Implementation Plan. Government co-leads and technical staff immediately began the management, planning and implementation needed to enhance, rationalize and integrate monitoring activities in the component areas of air, water, wildlife health and biodiversity.
Funding
Funding for monitoring in the first year of the three-year Implementation Plan (fiscal year 2012 to 2013) was collected from industry through Government of Alberta Ministerial Orders as a transition measure until appropriate legislation and regulations are put in place. The Ministerial Order enabled the Alberta government to set and collect fees from oil sands producers, identify the fee amount, hold the fees in a government fund, and distribute money for monitoring, evaluation and reporting purposes.
The orders were drafted specifically to address the monitoring outlined in the Implementation Plan, and the fees are structured in accordance with the specific activities conducted under the Implementation Plan and associated costs. The oil sands industry members of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers have collaboratively developed a funding formula to allocate costs up to the $50-million ceiling to oil sands operators for 2012 to 2013. Invoices were prepared and sent to companies in March 2013 based on this fee schedule. A total of $13,224,104 was invoiced through the Ministerial Orders, of which $12.2 million reimbursed federal efforts and $970,000 went to fund provincial activities. Alberta reimbursed Environment Canada for expenses through a bilateral funding agreement.
During the fiscal year 2012 to 2013, industry continued to directly fund regional organizations to conduct monitoring activities required under regulatory operating approvals, licences and permits, most of which support the Implementation Plan. Once legislation and regulations are in place, all monitoring activities under the Implementation Plan will be approved jointly by the two governments and will be funded through the Government of Alberta with monies collected from industry.
Accountable administration and review
Delivering the integrated, comprehensive cumulative-effects monitoring outlined in the Implementation Plan requires that existing monitoring arrangements currently delivered through various independent organizations be rationalized into a single government-led approach under the joint management of the two governments. This means implementing a common planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting cycle to which all organizations performing regional cumulative-effects monitoring in the oil sands region would adhere. The governments of Canada and Alberta are taking care to integrate the entire suite of monitoring activities while not unduly compromising monitoring objectives required for regulatory purposes. In addition, the Implementation Plan approach is consistent with the planned developments in Alberta's province-wide monitoring system. Integration of the multiple monitoring arrangements will be completed by 2014 as governments and independent organizations work to harmonize technical and governance mechanisms. In addition, the monitoring system will undergo external expert peer review after year three, and at five-year intervals thereafter, to ensure that scientific integrity is maintained.
The Implementation Plan commits the two governments to engage stakeholders, including Aboriginal peoples, industry, independent scientists and existing monitoring organizations.
Multi-stakeholder engagement efforts in 2012 to 2013 included First Nations and Métis organizations, the governments of the Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan, industry, monitoring organizations in Alberta, and other stakeholders. Shortly after the Implementation Plan was announced, a May 2012 technical multi-stakeholder workshop was held to seek stakeholder perspectives on the Implementation Plan and to better understand which engagement mechanisms are most effective for different stakeholders. An overarching engagement strategy will be finalized in 2013 to 2014 to guide future engagement efforts.
Aboriginal engagement
During 2012 to 2013, the governments of Canada and Alberta started engagement of representatives of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation, Fort McKay First Nation, Fort McMurray First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation. The goals of these engagement discussions were to share information and lessons learned; to build and sustain relationships; and to identify opportunities to advance common interests related to oil sands monitoring including communication, engagement, field operations and training.
Governments, First Nations and Métis have collaborated on some early successes, including:
- Monitoring activities - Members of the Mikisew Cree First Nation participated in snow pack sampling, an Air Quality Monitoring Station was established within the Fort McKay First Nation, and numerous First Nations and Métis community members contributed harvested wildlife for tissue sampling. All activities were initiated based on environmental concerns of the First Nations.
- Training - The governments and the Mikisew Cree First Nation undertook a pilot Environmental Monitor Training Program in March 2013 with the intent to train First Nations and Métis individuals from the Fort Chipewyan area in basic monitoring skills and contribute to capacity building for local peoples.
We recognize that much work remains to engage Aboriginal Peoples and integrate Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) into our work as described in the Joint Plan. Efforts continue to establish truly effective working relationships with First Nations and Métis people, organizations and communities. Additional effort will be required to fully include Aboriginal perspectives, information and traditional ecological knowledge in the planning, evaluation and reporting of monitoring activities.
Governments of Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories engagement
Reflecting the transboundary nature of the potential environmental impacts, and to promote collaboration, the Implementation Plan commits to engage with these governments, and efforts have included discussions with the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of Saskatchewan Environment and the ADM of Environment and Natural Resources, Northwest Territories. Information is being shared with regard to the status of the Implementation Plan, and more fulsome engagement of these governments is planned as part of more permanent multi-stakeholder engagement mechanisms.
Environmental non-governmental organizations engagement
Environmental non-governmental organizations were included in ongoing multi-stakeholder engagement mechanisms, including technical planning meetings and multi-stakeholder meetings.
Industry engagement
In February 2012, a full-day workshop was held with industry representatives focused on the technical aspects and governance approaches in the Implementation Plan.
A government-industry Transition Working Group (TWG) was established to inform governments about industry practices and perspectives on the current regional cumulative-effects monitoring compelled by industry's regulatory approval conditions. The intent of the TWG is to learn from industry's experiences on ambient regional monitoring to facilitate the transition from multiple individual-approval requirements delivered through multiple independent organizations into a single government-led program under the joint management of the two governments.
Monitoring organizations engagement
Discussions were held with independent monitoring organizations that have a current role in delivering monitoring functions in the oil sands region. In early March 2012, a meeting was held with the leaders of these monitoring organizations to begin the process of integration. This has been followed by a series of more technical discussions between government monitoring leads and experts from monitoring organizations. As monitoring activities integrate into a single government-led process, it is expected that a number of these monitoring organizations will continue as service providers and contribute valued monitoring expertise.
Transparent and accessible results
Evaluating monitoring results and presenting them in a form suitable for decision makers is more than simply identifying levels of substances in the environment and changes over time. A particular challenge is that "correlation does not imply causation." In other words, evaluation of monitoring results does not always demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between observed levels and trends in monitored substances and an activity. The Implementation Plan identifies multiple approaches that might help to identify the cause of environmental changes or impacts. The design also recognizes that while acute biological effects may be almost immediately apparent, more subtle long term effects may require longer monitoring periods to detect. For this reason, the Implementation Plan explicitly recognizes the value of detecting levels and trends of substances and biological effects that inform management decisions on mitigation measures to forestall adverse effects.
Transparency and accessibility of results are the foundation of the integrated monitoring program. To ensure consistency and the ability to integrate data, standardized quality assurance and quality control procedures and standard operating protocols are being developed. The Implementation Plan will produce a data management framework that will allow information to be uploaded, organized and publicly available in a timely, standardized, coordinated manner so that it is transparent and freely accessible.
In 2012 to 2013, standard quality management protocols and procedures were established for many oil sands monitoring activities. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for core chemical analyses are being developed by the participating laboratories, and field sampling protocols being used in the monitoring program are being documented (e.g., Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute). Any alterations of methods will be approved through an expert consultation process and include a period of inter-calibration with older methods. Where SOPs do not exist, they will be developed and will conform to existing standards developed by recognized international bodies whenever possible.
Governments worked to develop the Portal website, launched on April 22, 2013, by Canada's then Environment Minister Kent and Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Minister McQueen. The Portal provides access to information related to the Implementation Plan, including maps of the monitoring region, details of the monitoring sites, the recent data, and scientific analysis and interpretation of the data and results. As more data becomes available, the Portal will evolve with new updates and features and become more comprehensive.
Open, transparent and unrestricted access to all oil sands environmental results is a primary long-term goal. While much progress was made in 2012 to 2013, much work remains to finalize data management policies, integrate standards and protocols, and ensure a full and open data system.