OTTAWA, November 16, 2006 – The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, and Neil McCrank, Chairman of the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB), today announced the establishment of a three-member joint panel to review the proposed EnCana Shallow Gas Infill Development project in the Suffield National Wildlife Area in Alberta.
Minister Ambrose appointed Bob Connelly as the panel chair and Bill Ross as the other federal member of the panel. The third panel member is John Nichol, a permanent EUB Board member. Biographical information on the panel members is available in the accompanying backgrounder.
Minister Ambrose and Mr. McCrank have signed a joint panel agreement for the environmental review. The agreement which is being released today was issued for public comment before being finalized. The agreement describes the terms and conditions as well as the process to be followed for conducting the joint panel review.
Under the agreement, the joint panel will:
conduct an examination of the environmental effects of the proposed project and the significance of those effects;
consider measures that are technically and economically feasible to mitigate any adverse environmental effects and the need for, and the requirements of, any follow-up program with respect to the project; and
consider comments from the public that are received during the review.
Further details on the scope of the environmental assessment can be found in the Terms of Reference contained in the Agreement. The Agreement along with more information on this project is available on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry under registry number 05-05-15620.
EnCana Corporation proposes to install, over a three-year period, up to 1275 new shallow gas wells within the boundary of the Canadian Forces Base Suffield National Wildlife Area (NWA), located in Southeastern Alberta, approximately 50 kilometres Northwest of Medicine Hat and 250 kilometres Southeast of Calgary. The project is in addition to the existing natural gas development activities within the NWA and includes the physical works and the activities associated with the preparation, construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment of the shallow gas wells, pipelines, and supporting infrastructure.
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The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency administers the federal environmental assessment process, which identifies the environmental effects of proposed projects and measures to address those effects, in support of sustainable development.
The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board ensures that the discovery, development, and delivery of Alberta’s resources take place in a manner that is fair, responsible, and in the public interest, having regard for social, economic, and environmental impacts.
Media may contact:
Lucille Jamault
Senior Communications Advisor
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
Tel.: 613-957-0434
