Alberta faces calls for regulatory investigation after second refinery found operating without approval

Alberta is facing calls to launch an audit of its regulatory framework after a second refinery in the province was sanctioned for operating without provincial approval.

The Sundre oil refinery, also known as the Sundre fractionation facility, has been issued an enforcement order by Alberta Environment, five months after its sister facility in Slave Lake was hit with an enforcement order for the same regulatory lapse.

The province and operator AltaGas blame historic changes in Alberta's regulatory framework for leaving the site without appropriate oversight for years. 

Experts in environmental law say the twin breaches raise doubts about the strength of Alberta's regulatory systems and should prompt a sweeping audit of the province's compliance and enforcement practices. 

Nigel Bankes, an emeritus professor of law at the University of Calgary who specializes in natural resources and energy law, said Alberta's auditor general should conduct an independent audit.

"If we're seeing a pattern of non-compliant behaviour, then perhaps it's appropriate for someone to be looking at Alberta Environment's systems, because that's what this is — it's a system failure," Bankes said in an interview.

"What's the problem in the department's monitoring and and reporting?" 

The province should also prosecute the operator, Bankes said.

The order against the Sundre refinery — about 250 kilometres southwest of Edmonton — was issued to Enerchem International Inc. on Nov. 9, more than three decades after the plant began operating.

According to the order, the refinery violated Alberta's Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act by failing to seek permission from the province to operate.

The order states that no approval has been issued "for the construction, operation and reclamation" of the plant.

In June, the province issued an enforcement order against Enerchem's Slave Lake refinery — 22 years after it began processing oil.

Jason Unger, executive director of Edmonton's Environmental Law Centre, said the breaches require further investigation.

"With the first instance, there was a question of whether it was just an oversight or a mistake," Unger said. "Now, there's another facility.