Media Contact: Dan Woynillowicz

Management of water withdrawals from the Athabasca River by oil sands mining operations is proving to be a critical test of Alberta Environment Minister Guy Boutilier and federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Loyola Hearn's commitment to balancing oil sands development with environmental protection.

The Mikisew Cree First Nation and the Pembina Institute say that a draft plan circulated by Alberta Environment and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is inadequate to protect the Athabasca River and its fisheries. The Mikisew Cree continue to rely on the fishery for both traditional subsistence and commercial use.

The draft plan extends to 2011 when the results of ongoing research may be used to revise the plan. "The federal and Alberta governments have a responsibility to protect the Athabasca River and its fisheries now, and this plan won't do that," said Dan Woynillowicz, a Senior Policy Analyst with the Pembina Institute. "They already have more than five years of research and advice from international experts that enables them to set a limit on withdrawals when the river is at risk during winter low flows. The onus needs to be on industry to prove that they can withdraw water without jeopardizing the Athabasca River and its fishery, not on stakeholders to prove that they cannot."

"It seems that politics have trumped environmental protection. Each draft of the plan makes more concessions to the oil sands industry," said Melody Lepine, a representative of the Mikisew Cree First Nation. "The draft plan guarantees the oil sands industry the water they want, even when river flows are low and fish are being impacted. If this plan goes forward we will have to consider what legal options we have to secure the protection of the river."

According to the groups the oil sands industry can withdraw water in the summer and when flows are high in the winter with little environmental risk. The draft plan links varying river flows to "green," "yellow" and "red" management zones, which require different industry responses. According to Lepine, "They have green, yellow and red zones, like traffic lights. But even when river flows are low and there are impacts on the fish - what they call the red zone - industry doesn't have to stop taking water. When you're driving a car, red means stop."

"We're asking the Alberta Minister of Environment and the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to strengthen their plan and send both current and proposed oil sands operators a clear signal that they need to implement measures to better manage their water requirements," said Woynillowicz. "Proposed oil sands projects must be considered by Alberta Environment and DFO with the understanding that there are times when low river flows mean that no water can be withdrawn. There are cost effective options for oil sands operators to address this issue, but the Government has to implement rules that will make it happen."

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For more information contact:

In Fort McMurray:

Mikisew Cree First Nation
Melody Lepine, Director, Mikisew Cree IRC
780.792.8736

In Calgary:

The Pembina Institute
Dan Woynillowicz, Senior Policy Analyst
403.888.6272

Background

The Athabasca River winds 1,538 kilometres from its source at the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park to Lake Athabasca in Wood Buffalo National Park. It is Alberta's longest river, and one of North America's longest undammed rivers. It enters Lake Athabasca at the Peace-Athabasca Delta, which is the largest boreal delta in the world, a World Heritage Site, and one of the most important waterfowl nesting and staging areas in North America.

Water withdrawals for oil sands surface mining operations pose threats to both the sustainability of fish populations in the Athabasca River and to the Peace-Athabasca Delta. The lower Athabasca River, where oil sands mining operations are situated, offers habitat for these species throughout their life cycle - from eggs, and fry, to juveniles and adults. The river provides an important migratory route from Lake Athabasca to spawning areas upstream of Fort McMurray, as well as to tributary watercourses.

The use of water by oil sands development already accounts for 65 per cent of withdrawals from the Athabasca River. Oil sands surface-mining operations use water to extract the tar-like bitumen and turn it into synthetic crude oil, requiring between two and 4.5 cubic metres of water to produce just one cubic metre of oil. Already oil sands operations have been licensed to withdraw about 349 million cubic metres of water per year, more than twice the volume required from the Bow River for the city of Calgary's domestic needs.

The ecological integrity of all of Alberta's river ecosystems depends on adequate river flows. The Athabasca River is subject to variable seasonal flows, with the lowest flow periods occurring between November and March when run-off is limited and much of the river is flowing under ice. The River's ecosystem and fish populations are most sensitive to wintertime water withdrawals in those years when low rates of precipitation in the Athabasca Basin lead to unusually low river flows. The river's instream flow needs (IFN) is a threshold that represents the minimum amount of water flow that must be flowing to maintain the health of the river's ecosystem. Oil sands water withdrawals during this time further reduce the river's flow, which reduces fish habitat and affects fish populations.

In its Decision Reports for the CNRL Horizon Mine and Shell Jackpine Mine in early 2004, the Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) noted that "the timely development of the IFN for the Athabasca River is needed to preserve the future integrity of the river" and "the establishment of an IFN is critically important to mitigate against cumulative environmental effects associated with water withdrawal from the Athabasca River." In light of these concerns the EUB directed Alberta Environment and the federal DFO to establish an IFN for the Athabasca River if the Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA) failed to do so by the end of 2005. The draft plan fails to implement an IFN, but rather allows oil sands withdrawals to continue while additional research is conducted. As such, the government will make decisions about current and proposed projects that allow withdrawals in the red zone. This will preclude any significant effort by the oil sands industry to develop and implement new technologies and practices that enable them to manage their withdrawals in a manner that ensures the protection of the Athabasca River.

The oil sands industry has a number of cost-effective options available to mitigate or reduce its water requirements. These include improving the efficiency of its water use, increasing its rate of water recycling and storing larger volumes of water on-site. In addition, the industry could store water in offstream reservoirs upstream of its operations.