Alberta oil refinery operating for years without provincial approval faces enforcement order

A refinery near Slave Lake in northern Alberta is facing an enforcement order for operating without regulatory approval, 22 years since it began processing oil.

The Enerchem plant was never granted approval under Alberta's Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA), according to the order issued June 20.

The order states that no approval "has been issued to any person for the construction, operation and reclamation of the plant," in contravention of the act.

Under the conditions set out in the order, the oil fractionation plant, 250 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, can continue operating while the owner, Calgary-based AltaGas, seeks approval from the province.

Experts in environmental law say the infraction is troubling evidence of cracks in Alberta's complex regulatory system and undermines its approvals process.

Nigel Bankes, an emeritus professor of law at the University of Calgary, said Alberta Environment needs to assure the public that the plant is in compliance and that other facilities are not operating without oversight.

"The idea of an significant industrial development operating without approval for years, it's off the charts," Bankes said. 

"I would describe it as negligence."

Bankes said allowing the company to continue operating, without a proper review, is problematic and assumes the site is in compliance with environmental guidelines.

"We don't know that and we have no means of knowing that." 

According to Alberta Environment, the plant should have sought regulatory approval in 2011, a decade after it was constructed. But legal experts contend the site has been lacking the appropriate regulatory oversight since it began processing oil in 2001.

It isn't clear how the infraction went undetected for years, or what environmental oversights were in place during the lapse. 

The enforcement order, which expires in June 2024, says the owner must undertake a series of compliance conditions, including environmental monitoring for water, air, soil and emissions.

The order also outlines requirements for a reclamation plan, record-keeping, and monthly and annual reporting.