Lower Athabasca Regional Plan inadequate to protect water resources for the future

Edmonton, Alberta- The Government of Alberta needs to commission an independent science panel to review its draft plan to manage the impacts of oilsands development on surface waters and groundwater in the Lower Athabasca Region, Water Matters said after reviewing a draft of Alberta's Lower Athabasca Regional Plan released on Tuesday.

While the draft plan does describe water quality and quantity limits and triggers for government action, it is not clear whether or how the plan will achieve the desired outcome of balancing development with environmental protection.  "The Government of Alberta has acknowledged today that decisions it makes in managing oil sands activities and development have to be informed by scientific assessments of environmental limits that should not be exceeded," says Dr. Bill Donahue, Special Water Policy and Science Advisor for Water Matters Society of Alberta. "However, they have failed to incorporate any assessment of environmental or ecological thresholds into their plan. Without these, the Government of Alberta will continue to have no idea what the impacts of oil sands development have been or will be in the future."

Water Matters' initial review of the plan suggests the Government of Alberta has taken a "business-as-usual" approach to management of oil sands development and activities.  For example, the Government of Alberta has failed to retain the option of stopping water withdrawals during critical low-flow periods, will not adequately assess groundwater supplies or identify if management responses include halting groundwater withdrawals by in situ oil sands operations, and will not identify pre-development baselines or ecological thresholds that if passed will result in serious environmental harm. 

"On the whole, this plan reinforces the impression that Alberta will continue to respond to problems with oil sands development after they occur, rather than avoid them, because their plan is to continue to avoid monitoring and assessing cumulative environmental impacts," says Donahue. "It's simply not reasonable to rely upon a single water quality monitoring site downstream of oil sands development to provide information for managing ecological health in the Lower Athabasca River, its tributaries, the Peace-Athabasca Delta, and regional wetlands, ponds, and lakes."

In December 2010, one of the major findings of the Royal Society of Canada was that relatively little is known about regional groundwater supplies and quality. Unfortunately, the LARP does not make it a strategic priority to determine how much groundwater can be safely withdrawn or contaminated by industry without harming regional supplies of groundwater or surface waters.

The basic problem is that the Government of Alberta has failed to commit to protecting healthy aquatic ecosystems in the Athabasca River and regional surface waters. Unlike Environment Canada's recently released water quality assessment plan that focuses on impacts of development and preservation of environmental health, the LARP and its associated management frameworks are largely incomplete and will not effectively guide development in the region. Without determining and adopting scientifically robust thresholds as triggers for management decisions and action, the surface waters and groundwaters of the Lower Athabasca will continue to be at risk from irresponsible use of water resources.

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Dr. Bill Donahue

Special Advisor (Policy and Science)
403 538 7785
info@water-matters.org