Statement on Alberta Energy Regulator’s Toothless Response to Imperial Oil Tailings Disaster
Press Release
August 22, 2024
Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – The Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) response to Imperial Oil’s gross misconduct is a toothless slap on the wrist. After concealing a toxic leak for nine months and dumping 5.3 million litres of contaminated waste into the environment, Imperial Oil gets away with paying the oil company equivalent of a parking ticket and completing an ‘I’ll do better next time’ take-home assignment.
If the AER was serious about protecting local communities and the environment, Imperial Oil would have faced prosecution and a hefty fine. The quality assurance measures imposed by the regulator today should have been in place long before Imperial was ever allowed to operate. This weak response will do nothing to deter oil companies in the tar sands from letting this kind of environmental disaster happen again and again.
This shocking dereliction of duty to Albertans underscores why the federal government must ensure that violations of the Fisheries Act result in meaningful legal and financial consequences for polluting oil companies.
Background information:
- The AER announced today an administrative penalty of $50,000 and two “terms and conditions” projects for Imperial Oil, in response to the incidents that occurred at its Kear mine in 2023.
- The Imperial Oil tailings disaster allowed 5.3 million litres of toxic wastewater to overflow into the environment and an additional unknown volume of tailings to leak off-site. The leak was kept a secret from local Indigenous communities and the federal government for nine months.
- In May 2023, the Federal government announced it had opened an investigation into the incident under the Fisheries Act. No public updates have been issued since.
- The tar sands’ tailings “ponds” now contain over 1.4 trillion litres of waste, covering an area more than 2.6 times the size of Vancouver.
- For more information about tar sands tailings “ponds” please see this fact sheet.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
– 30 –
For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Alex Ross, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
ILR4
