Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, Sonya Savage. (Government of Alberta)

By rdnewsNOW staff

Imperial Oil Kearl Site

Minister Savage meets with Minister Guilbeault

Mar 15, 2023 | 11:40 AM

An environmental incident at Imperial Oil’s Kearl site in northern Alberta last year was the focus of a meeting between provincial and national government ministers this week.

On March 14, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Sonya Savage had a bilateral meeting with Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada Steven Guilbeault to discuss the incident at Imperial Oil’s Kearl site.

In the meeting, the Alberta government says Minister Savage informed Minister Guilbeault that Alberta Environment has sent officials to the Kearl site to conduct independent water sampling, which complements but does not replace what is being described as extensive monitoring in place by the Alberta Energy Regulator and Imperial Oil.

Provincial government officials say Alberta Environment has also completed water monitoring at Lake Athabasca and continues to monitor river locations downstream of the Kearl site. The government says the Oil Sands Monitoring Program is also enhancing its regular tributary monitoring programs.

Provincial officials say Minister Savage informed Minister Guilbeault that as of March 14, the Alberta government has not seen any evidence of waterway, waterbody or drinking water contamination as a result of the incidents under investigation but will continue with testing and monitoring and will share results with Minister Guilbeault as they become available. The Alberta government says Minister Guilbeault agreed to reciprocate by sharing any federal testing results with the province.

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Provincial officials say Minister Savage and Minister Guilbeault reiterated a dual commitment to review information exchange processes and committed to maintaining open communication channels with Indigenous communities in the area with updates on water sampling and other monitoring results.

The Alberta government further notes the ministers also discussed accelerating collaboration on a long-term solution for the treatment and remediation of tailings ponds and will work to establish a federal-provincial working group to ensure this is developed as quickly as possible.

Provincial officials say more details will be released on the makeup and objectives of this working group in the weeks ahead.

Meantime, federal officials acknowledge that Minister Guilbeault reiterated his commitment to take a collaborative approach to the situation.

“Minister Guilbeault raised the fact that Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers have issued a Fisheries Act Direction to Imperial Oil that requires immediate action to contain the seep and prevent it from entering a fish-bearing waterbody. Enforcement officers will continue to attend the site, monitor cleanup, and collect more inspection information to determine Fisheries Act compliance. Minister Guilbeault underlined that Imperial Oil’s own stated failures of communication were unacceptable and have raised broader concerns regarding the efficacy of existing notification systems through Alberta (EDGE). Environment and Climate Change Canada will be closely engaged with the Alberta Energy Regulator to review Imperial Oil’s remedial action plan to ensure it complies with the Fisheries Act.

“Minister Guilbeault also introduced the idea of a joint federal-provincial-Indigenous working group, with participation from the oil companies, to address the immediate concerns around the Kearl Oil Sands Mine situation to restore trust and give transparency to all parties involved. This would include meeting on a regular basis to discuss remediation and containment plans, and improvements to the notification systems for ongoing incidents of spill or seepage. Details on the make-up and objectives of this working group will be developed soon.”