As a provincial regulator moves ahead with new enforcement tools to crack down on waste from Alberta’s oilsands sector, new statistics have revealed that a majority of projects faced no fines or prosecution in recent years under environmental protection legislation.
The data, compiled through an analysis of quarterly provincial reports and decisions made by the federal and provincial governments, revealed that only one company was fined under environmental protection legislation in 2006 and 2007.
Meanwhile, the federal government did not lay a single charge under the Fisheries Act against any oilsands company operating between 1988 and 2005.
“This is an industry that’s spewing 1.8 billion litres of toxic waste in tailings ponds every day, so looking at this and realizing the scale of it, it was really quite alarming,” said Gillian McEachern, a senior campaigner at ForestEthics, an environmental group that conducted the analysis.
“It really points to the need for better federal oversight over what’s happening, stronger regulations and good monitoring and enforcement of those regulations.”
Greenpeace has launched a new web site that takes aim at Alberta’s oil sands development and says it can save tourists the trip of having to see the pollution and toxins it produces for themselves.
TravellingAlberta.ca was launched June 24 and is a tongue-in-cheek travel site that uses humour to try and communicate their message of how destructive they believe the oilsands development is to the environment.
Techniques include using photographs of people participating in various vacation activities such as waterskiing or sand castles being built by children — except tar is prevalent in the photos.
The site was launched “in reaction to the provincial government announcing a $25-million public relations campaign to try and tell the world that the environmental and social problems associated with the tar sands don’t exist,” said Mike Hudema, tar sands campaigner for Greenpeace Canada. Read the rest of this entry »
TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. _ Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach defended his province´s development of crude from Canada´s massive oilsands Tuesday as environmentalist complaints trailed him to the Western Governors´ Association meeting in Wyoming.
Stelmach said he expects his province´s oil industry to be scrutinized because it´s the top source of imported crude oil to the United States. Alberta exported 1.35 million barrels of crude oil a day to the United States in 2006, making up 13 per cent of U.S. crude imports.
“Being the No. 1 supplier to the United States, we expect that we´ll be drawing attention, simply as a result of that,” Stelmach said.
In what is billed a congressional investigative trip, two U.S. lawmakers will get a bird’s-eye view of Alberta’s oilsands today, a region which has lately been denigrated by mayors south of the border as well as Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s campaign.
But despite the recent spate of criticism, the two Democratic congressmen told the Sun crude from Alberta’s oilsands is vital to the energy security of their country.
“It’s critically important,” said Rick Boucher, a congressmen from Virginia who also chairs the subcommittee on energy and air quality. “We need that oil and we’re going to take whatever steps are necessary to make cure that we continue to have access to it.”
