Empowering Northern Leaders to Protect the Mackenzie River Basin from the Risks of Oil Sands Development
Northern Lifeblood Report and Fact Sheet
The pristine and ecologically-significant Mackenzie River Basin is the lifeblood of the North and has
sustained people, flora and fauna for millennia. Today, the basin is at risk
from oil sands development occurring in its headwaters. This report, Northern Lifeblood — Empowering Northern
Leaders to Protect the Mackenzie River Basin from the Risks of Oil Sands
Development, investigates current and future threats to the basin,
including the risks associated with the 170 square kilometres of toxic tailings
lakes in the Athabasca watershed. The report details opportunities for both
northern leaders and the federal government to proactively protect northern
waters. Important actions include: enforcing existing federal laws, supporting
water protection initiatives and transboundary water agreements, improving
water quality monitoring, participating in the approval process governing oil
sands development, and investigating opportunities for legal actions.
Access the fact sheet for
an overview of threats to the Mackenzie River Basin and actions that leaders in
the North can take to protect their waters.
Full Report | Fact Sheet
Leading Thinkers Give Their Views on Sustainability
Thought leaders feel that carbon
capture and storage and low-carbon fuel standards have the least potential to
reduce the environmental impacts of oil sands, while establishing regional
environmental thresholds has the highest potential.
This is just one of the findings of The 2010 Global Thought Leader Survey on Sustainability, a groundbreaking survey of more than 5,000 sustainability thought leaders in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. The survey was commissioned by the Pembina Institute from McAllister Opinion Research.
Thought leaders from government, academia, industry, institutions
and non-profit organizations completed the survey, which featured a core set of
sustainability-related questions plus four specialized sections: climate change,
sustainable energy, green economics and oil sands.
Learn more: Summary Report
First ever report card on deep oil sands reveals significant room for improvement
Some in-situ environmental impacts as serious as mining
Drilling Deeper: The In Situ Oil Sands Report Card is the first comparative environmental assessment of in situ oil sands projects. Scores among the nine Canadian operating projects surveyed ranged from 25% to 60%, with five of nine projects scoring less than 50%. The average score of 44% demonstrates substantial room for improvement across the sector.
In situ extraction techniques are used where oilsands deposits lie too deep underground to surface mine. Given that about 80,000 square kilometres of Alberta, an area the size of Scotland, has been leased for in-situ development, the potential environmental impact of these projects could be significant.
Full Report | Fact Sheet | Best Practices Checklist
Only Two Oil Sands Mines Set to Meet Tailings Rules
Tailings volume to increase to 1.1 trillion litres
A comprehensive review of regulatory documents conducted by the Pembina Institute and Water Matters
found that only two of nine oil sands operations reported they would comply with a new provincial law designed to limit increases in tailings, the toxic liquid waste produced by oil sands mining operations.
The seven remaining operations submitted plans that will not comply
with rules for reducing their production of liquid tailings by the
first target date in 2011. Some companies submitted plans suggesting
they may not meet the rules for tailings management for over 40 years.
Oil Sands Growth Linked to Pipeline Capacity
Domestic demand for oil from the oil sands is not expected to increase significantly, but the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project would facilitate growth in oil sands production by providing an export pipeline to the British Columbia coast. If the current business-as-usual management of the oil sands prevails, the environmental impacts associated with the pipelines will be significant.
Opening the Door to Oil Sands Expansion: The Enbridge Oil Sands Pipeline
highlights the climate, land, water and air impacts that would occur as a result of this project. It recommends that before further steps are taken to develop the Enbridge oil sands pipeline, the environmental management concerns of the oil sands need to be addressed and a public inquiry that could engage communities in the full range of impacts be concluded.
Oil Sands in Saskatchewan
Oil sands development is still in its early stages in Saskatchewan and there is an opportunity to do things properly to avoid the mistakes of Alberta.
The oil sands in Saskatchewan could hold as much as 2.3 billion barrels of bitumen, and cover an area of 27,000 square kilometres. Carbon Copy: Preventing Oil Sands Fever in Saskatchewan is a new report from the Pembina Institute, the Saskatchewan Environmental Society and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. It outlines key steps that would be required to ensure any oil sands development proceeds responsibly.
