Ten-fold Growth in Bitumen Upgrading Will Have Major Impacts on Air, Land and Water
Oil sands production in northern Alberta could triple by 2020, to four million barrels a day. As a result of this increasing oil sands production, a major industrial expansion of bitumen upgraders is underway northeast of Edmonton. This so called "Upgrader Alley" is expected to handle nearly half the oil sands production right on Edmonton’s doorstep.
A new Pembina Institute report is the first to provide an in-depth look at the environmental impacts of upgrading oil sands bitumen in the Edmonton region. Upgrader Alley: Oil Sands Fever Strikes Edmonton provides an assessment of the cumulative environmental impacts of a 10-fold expansion of upgrading capacity proposed for Edmonton's doorstep. The report recommends that the Government of Alberta only approve new projects once environmental and infrastructure plans are completed and implemented.
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Oil Sands Certified Reclamation at 0.2%, Toxic Tailings Production of 1.8 Billion Litres a Day
A comprehensive new report by the Pembina Institute has found that after 41 years of oil sands mining operations in northern Alberta only 0.2% (about one square kilometer) of disturbed land is certified as reclaimed. Fact or Fiction: Oil Sands Reclamation is a critical review of current policies and practices governing oil sands reclamation. The researchers found woefully inadequate reclamation progress, astonishing rates of toxic tailings creation and no proven way to clean them up.
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» Read the media release
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First-ever Report Card Gives Oil Sands Mines a Failing Grade
The Pembina Institute and World Wildlife Fund-Canada released Under-Mining The Environment: Oil Sands Mine Environmental Report Card — the most comprehensive comparative assessment of 10 of Alberta's operating, approved or applied-for oil sands mines.
The mines, for the most part, get a failing grade.
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» Read the media release
» Read the fact sheet
