P Alberta’s enforcing fewer than one per cent of potential environmental violations in its oilsands region, according to a new report from independent researchers, published Tuesday. Environmental groups Treeline Ecological Research and Global Forest Watch Canada examined records of thousands of environmental incidents associated with a set of oilsands projects from the Environment and Sustainable Resource Development ministry. The (often incomplete) records indicate that there were over 4,000 “alleged contraventions” – possible violations of environmental regulations that have not been proven in court – in that area since 1996. According to enforcement reports, in that same time period the ministry took 37 actions to enforce those regulations. This means, the authors say, that only 0.9 per cent of violations are subject to any kind of enforcement, which could include fines, prosecution and warning letters. Alberta Environment couldn’t tell Global News what percentage of incidents result in government orders or prosecutions. But spokesperson Jessica Potter said every report goes through a triage process and is investigated individually. “Not every incident is going to result in a compliance action,” said Potter, when asked generally about the rate of enforcement. “The determination as to whether or not we move forward with an enforcement action entirely depends on what we find in that investigation.” Related Stories Aerial photos of the cleanup of a Plains Midstream pipeline break northeast of Peace River, Alta. on May 4, 2011. Huge 2011 spill made Alberta inspectors miss hundreds of pipeline safety checks Pipeline cleanup after a break northeast of Peace River, Alta., on May 4, 2011. Ian Jackson/Canadian Press Watching the pipelines: How good are Alberta’s energy regulators? Smoke rises from railway cars that were carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac Megantic, Que, Saturday, July 6, 2013. How safe is transporting oil by rail? Environment Minister Diana McQueen has said the province has some of the toughest regulations in the world. The government is “absolutely not” doing enough to enforce its regulations, said Kevin Timoney, Principal Investigator at Treeline Ecological Research and one of the co-authors of the report. “There is this disconnect between the statement from the government that we have these great regulations and we’re strictly enforcing them, and the reality, which is that there are thousands of violations about which they do nothing,” he said.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 21:25:28 +0000
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