Calgary, Alberta (December 21, 2006) The Joint Review Panel, established by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) and the Government of Canada, released Decision 2006–128, which grants conditional approval for Albian Sands Energy Inc. (Albian) to expand its Muskeg River oil sands mine, integrate it with the Shell Jackpine Mine, and construct and operate a bitumen extraction plant. This project would be located adjacent to Albian’s existing oil sands mining operation 70 km north of Fort McMurray.
The Decision places 16 conditions on Albian that relate to environmental and technical aspects of the project, including tailings and reclamation management.
The Joint Panel refused to approve Albian’s request for a new alignment of Highway 63 for about 5.5 km, which would offset the highway a minimum of 250 metres (m) from the east bank of the Athabasca River. Albian was also not granted approval for an additional 60 m wide corridor east of the highway to accommodate pipelines to the Aurora North mine and a 30 m wide corridor to accommodate the 240 kilovolt (kV) grid connection to Albian’s plant site.
In deciding not to approve the highway re-alignment request, the Joint Panel stated that further study was needed to assess the appropriate balance between recovery of the bitumen resource that would be sterilized if the highway was not re-located and the need to protect the Athabasca River valley ecosystem from impacts that might result from re-location of the highway. The Joint Panel was not convinced that Albian demonstrated that the relocation of the highway would maintain the Athabasca River Valley’s watershed, wildlife, recreation, aesthetic, ecological, or traditional values identified by the Fort McMurray - Athabasca Oil Sands Sub regional Integrated Resource Plan. The Decision states that further study is needed to assess the balance between the recovery of bitumen resources and the protection of the river valley ecosystem.
The Joint Panel makes 13 recommendations to the Government of Canada, including that coordinated action be taken at all levels of government to ensure that the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has the ability to service the anticipated level of sustained growth in the region. Other recommendations relate to water quantity, water quality, and fish habitat.
The Decision also makes 21 recommendations to the Government of Alberta. The recommendations include: that coordinated action be taken at all levels of government to ensure that the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has the ability to service the anticipated level of sustained growth in the region; that the government continue to work with the Northern Lights Health Region to address the lack of land, infrastructure, and resources that it is currently faced with in Fort McMurray; and that the government continue to work with the health region to ensure that the supply of land ready for residential development and the necessary planning are in place to meet the existing and expected housing demand, including affordable housing, in the region.
The report follows a public hearing that took place between September 5 and 18, 2006 in Fort McMurray and Nisku, Alberta.
The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board ensures that the discovery, development, and delivery of Alberta's resources and utility services take place in a manner that is fair, responsible, and in the public interest.
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.
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The Panel's final report (Joint Panel Report EUB Decision 2006-128) is available on the EUB Web site at
www.eub.gov.ab.ca. A summary can be found on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's Web site.
For more information, contact:
Gordon Harris
Sr. Communications Advisor
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
Tel. 613-957-0825
gordon.harris@ceaa-acee.gc.ca
Darin Barter
Communications
Alberta Energy and Utilities Board
Tel : 403-297-4116
darin.barter@gov.ab.ca
