Calgary, Alberta (February 27, 2007) The Joint Review Panel, established by the federal Minister of the Environment and the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB), released Decision 2007–013, which grants conditional approval for Imperial Oil Resources Ventures Limited (Imperial Oil) to construct and operate the Kearl Oil Sands Project. The Kearl project includes the design, construction, operation, and reclamation of four open pit mines, ore preparation and bitumen extraction facilities, tailings management facilities and other supporting infrastructure. This project would be located approximately 70 kilometers north of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
The report follows a public hearing held from November 6 through November 29, 2006, in Fort McMurray, Nisku, and Edmonton, Alberta.
The Decision places 17 conditions on Imperial Oil that relate to environmental and technical aspects of the project, including tailings and reclamation management.
The Joint Panel makes eight recommendations to the Government of Canada relating to water management, fish habitat monitoring, mine fleet emissions technology, regional monitoring, and the Cumulative Environmental Management Association.
The Joint Panel makes 20 recommendations to the Government of Alberta. The recommendations include: that Alberta continue to work with the Northern Lights Health Region (NLHR) to address the lack of land, infrastructure and resources that the NLHR is currently faced with in Fort McMurray; that coordinated action be taken to ensure that the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) has the ability to service the anticipated level of sustained growth in the region; and that Alberta continue to work with the RMWB to ensure the supply of land ready for residential development and the necessary planning is in place to meet the existing and expected housing demand in the region.
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 2007-013) 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:
Davis Sheremata
Communications
Alberta Energy and Utilities Board
Tel : 403-297-2252
davis.sheremata@gov.ab.ca
Lucille Jamault
Communications
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
Tel. 613-957-0434
lucille.jamault@ceaa-acee.gc.ca
