[This post is the second in a 5 part series, which looks at the main economic, social, and environmental justifications for Alberta's Oil Sands. The final post in this series will discuss select renewable energy sources, along with the feasibility of implementation in Alberta. Click for Justification 1]
Argument 2: Reclamation - Full Restoration of Land that Oil Sands Projects Disturb
Current regulations mean that “developers are required to restore oil sands mining sites to at least the equivalent of their previous biological productivity, which means the region as a whole forms an ecosystem landscape at least as healthy and productive as that which existed before development”. (Alberta Innovates)
Suncor recently reclaimed 220 hectares of land, however wildlife is sparse and full reclamation is known to be many decades away. The idea that full reclamation even exists is still hotly debated; David Suzuki has said there is little to no chance of reclamation. The First Nations people who are affected agree. "We don't know if it will support life or what chemicals are still soaked into the soil, and at the end of the day this land will be a fundamentally different landscape than the diverse ecosystem that was here before Suncor began its destructive operations," stated George Poltras, former Chief of Mikisew First Nation, who live downstream of the oil sands.
Furthermore, the environmental impacts go much further than just the direct area that the oil sands projects disturb. The operations pollute in 11 major ways (Timoney and Lee 2009), including:
- Permitted (licensed) discharges to air and land
- Seepage from tailings ponds
- Evaporation from tailings ponds
- Leaks from pipelines
- Major spills of bitumen, oil, and wastewater
- Tar sands dust
- Ancillary activities such as transporting, construction of mines, ponds, roads, pipelines, facilities, and dewatering practices
Because of this activity, watersheds in the area suffer greatly. An independent peer-reviewed scientific study has shown that the oil sands are in fact poisoning the Athabasca river.
In addition, capital collected for reclamation security funding for just the direct area affected is overwhelming inadequate. Pembina has projected that the security contains enough funding to provide each hectare of land with $11 964. Reclamation activities will, based on current data, cost upwards of $220 000 per hectare. The balance of the funding could end up in the hands of Albertan taxpayers, each resident could be liable for $4300 to $6300. The Royal Society found that “current practices for obtaining financial security for reclamation liability leave Albertans vulnerable to major financial risks.”
Click here for more information. And please comment below if you have questions, comments of ideas.
2 comments:
And yet, knowing all of this, our government plans to expand the oil sands, encouraging countries from all over the world to "invest in Canada". And while the oil companies make billions in profit, while not properly investing in reclamation, we give them tax breaks. ARGHHHHH!
By the way, I just landed on your blog thanks to a comment you left on GRIST, and I really enjoy it. I'll be "returning".
Yes, its just a matter of waking people up. Hopefully awareness causes change not necessity, but it will happen either way. Thanks for the comment!
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