Alberta Energy Regulator imposing penalty on Imperial Oil amid ongoing Kearl investigation
Global News
On Thursday, the regulator said its investigation found that industrial wastewater bypassed a seepage interception system.
Imperial Oil has been fined $50,000 after the province’s energy regulator concluded the company broke environmental laws when wastewater containing oilsands tailings seeped outside its lease boundary in 2022.
The fine is accompanied by requirements for mitigation plans and research into the environmental effects of such wastewater and represents only the first part of the regulator’s inquiry.
“These findings and resulting compliance and enforcement decisions do not encompass all potential contraventions that may have occurred at Kearl,” the regulator said in a statement. “The investigation remains ongoing.”
Although the fine for two contraventions is the maximum allowed under Alberta law, environmental groups scoffed at its size. Imperial reported $1.1 billion in income in the second quarter of 2024.
In May 2022, Imperial told the regulator that discoloured water had pooled on the surface near the boundary of its Kearl oilsands lease.
Area First Nations were notified but not given further updates until February 2023, when information that the release contained tailings seepage was disclosed along with news of a second release of 5.3 million litres of contaminated wastewater from a holding pond.
Indigenous communities were angered that their members had been harvesting in the area for nine months without being told of possible contamination. So was the Regional Municipality of Fort McMurray and water users as far downstream as the Northwest Territories.
The regulator issued an environmental protection order in March.
The motion won't mean the city is investing or accepting payment in cryptocurrency any time soon, but will instead direct staff to look into those possibilities.
Enbridge officials said in a statement that the reroute proposal has gone through rigorous reviews and studies.
A proposed deal that would see three tobacco giants pay out billions to provinces and territories, as well as smokers across Canada, has been approved by the companies' creditors.
Tokyo recently announced a four-day workweek policy in an effort to boost Japan’s record-low fertility rate - something that Canada is also struggling with.
More than 1,500 firefighters were battling the blaze, many working in steep canyons, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
Evidence has grown in recent years that highly processed foods are linked to a wide range of chronic health problems, like diabetes and heart disease.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has released its list of the top 10 most impactful weather events of 2024.
Fifteen charges under the federal Fisheries Act have been laid against Imperial Metals Corp. more than 10 years after a tailings pond collapsed the Mount Polley mine.
Many kids and teens are looking forward to the holidays with great excitement, but others find it a difficult time of year filled with anxiety, stress and loneliness. It’s something Alisa Simon, the chief youth officer at Kids Help Phone, says they watch for when school pauses for the winter break, noting, “we do see an increase...
Advocates and friends of a Nova Scotia woman who died from stage IV breast cancer are urging the province to update its screening policy for women with dense breast tissue.
The report estimates a cancer patient will face almost $33,000 on average in out-of-pocket cancer-related costs in their lifetime, including loss of income.