EDMONTON - Some are calling it the better-late-than-never plan as Alberta rolled out a new policy to curb toxic emissions and limit water use in an area northeast of Edmonton where at least eight new oil upgraders are planned.
The sweeping changes to environmental policy will place a cap on emissions for the entire region, replacing a system that set limits for individual projects without consideration of the cumulative effect of emissions.
"Frankly, I believe that it's never too late," Environment Minister Rob Renner told a news conference Tuesday. "It's something that needs to be started at some point and it starts today."
The policy, which takes effect in 2009, will also include rules for water use by the huge upgrader projects, which are expected to draw massive volumes from the North Saskatchewan River.
Dr. David Schindler, a world renowned water expert, says the changes are "better late than never," but should also include carbon dioxide emissions, which cause global warming.
"One has to wonder why CO2 is managed differently," Dr. Schindler said in an interview. "With CO2 of course, it's a global effect."
Dr. Schindler says there's no question this policy change is an improvement for Alberta compared to the way the province approached environmental issues in the 1990s. But he says Alberta is still considered slow in dealing with key environmental issues.
"It's still kind of like a race between a tortoise and a hare," he said. "Right now the industry is the hare and environmental regulation is the tortoise."
A spokesman for the energy industry offered a cautious response Tuesday, saying they need to see how the new policy will actually be applied "on the ground" both for new and existing projects.
David Pryce, vice-president of Western Canadian operations with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, says there also needs to be a better understanding of how firmly the province plans hold to industry to the new "targets" for toxic emissions.
"Are they hard and fast or have the been designed to accommodate some flexibility?"
Liberal environment critic David Swann also says this policy change is long overdue. But Swann says Albertans have to wonder why there is no firm timeline for these new regulations to be applied to the booming oil sands region.
"That's really surprising and disappointing for people who think that the oil sands should be the centre of this kind of attention," said Mr. Swann.
The new policy targets sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. The area covering 317 square kilometres northeast of Edmonton will have a limit of 25,000 tonnes of nitrogen oxide and 28,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide per year.
Ministry officials say this is far less than the total emissions that would have occurred without this policy. As an example, officials said when all the upgraders were completed, sulphur dioxide levels could have reached 137,000 tonnes per year.
Water use by the industrial giants will also be controlled under a new regional water plan, which is expected to be drafted before the end of the year. A new land use policy for the upgraders and other major industrial developments in the region is also in the works.
"Targets for air, land and water will protect the environment while allowing development to occur," said Mr. Renner. "We don't intend to replace other regulations, instead it allows us to more fully consider development on a regional basis."
A spokesman for the environment ministry says the province will work with existing industries to curb their emissions. But Mr. Renner says new industrial projects will be expected to adopt state-of-the-art technology to minimize emissions.
"If we didn't insist that recycled water become paramount in the development, there is a very real possibility that we could have reached a point where we're causing significant harm to the region," said the minister.
Mr. Renner also says there may come a time decades from now that a new emissions policy will have to be put in place for this region.
"But the difference is we won't do so after people come to the realization that the air is no longer breathable and that we've run out of water."
Mr. Renner's announcement comes as other provinces are also adopting major environmental reforms. The agenda in British Columbia includes legislation requiring hard caps on emissions from heavy industry.
These changes are part of a commitment by the B.C. government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the province by 33 per cent by 2020.
The Quebec government has announced a $25-million subsidy program for businesses that convert to natural gas from heavy oil to help cut greenhouse gas emissions.
