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Athabasca River water management framework : Alberta's regulatory backstop to protect the Athabasca River

Description

Alberta Environment is setting strict limits on how much water oil sands companies can remove from the Athabasca River under a new framework that sets maximum withdrawals. With this unprecedented... More ≫

Description

Alberta Environment is setting strict limits on how much water oil sands companies can remove from the Athabasca River under a new framework that sets maximum withdrawals. With this unprecedented action, Alberta Environment is putting in place a water management framework for immediate protection of the Athabasca. Alberta is providing this regulatory backstop as an interim measure while key stakeholders continue to work on long-term planning to safeguard the river.

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Environmental Assessment - Parsons Creek Aggregates Parsons Creek Aggregates Limestone Quarry Project

Description

Environmental assessment registry documents pertaining to the proposed Parsons Creek Aggregates Parsons Creek Aggregates Limestone Quarry Project. The proposal is for a limestone quarry with... More ≫

Description

Environmental assessment registry documents pertaining to the proposed Parsons Creek Aggregates Parsons Creek Aggregates Limestone Quarry Project. The proposal is for a limestone quarry with production rates of 500,000 tonnes per year initially with potential for peak production rate of 2.5 million tonnes per year in the future. The location is north of the Fort McMurray Urban Service Boundary and between Hwy 63 and the Athabasca River within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. The EIA was deemed complete in 2013. For more information on the environmental assessment process visit ea.alberta.ca.

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Expert workshop on selenium fish science in the Athabasca River, Alberta : workshop summary report

Description

An expert selenium fisheries panel was convened in 2007 to provide both government and industry stakeholders with an independent review. This final report, the last of three commissioned by the... More ≫

Description

An expert selenium fisheries panel was convened in 2007 to provide both government and industry stakeholders with an independent review. This final report, the last of three commissioned by the Alberta government, provides five recommendations to aid the Alberta Selenium Working Group, a joint industry-government body, in efforts to mitigate the effect of the naturally occurring element. Includes acceptance of the report by the Alberta Selenium Working Group.

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Analysis of water quality conditions and trends for the long-term river network : Athabasca River, 1960-2007

Description

Since the early 1950s, large rivers throughout the Province of Alberta have been subjected to regular monthly sampling for a broad suite of water quality parameters. Althought water quality... More ≫

Description

Since the early 1950s, large rivers throughout the Province of Alberta have been subjected to regular monthly sampling for a broad suite of water quality parameters. Althought water quality monitoring on the Athabasca River began as early as 1955 for some variables, regular sampling for most parameters was not implemented until at least 1960. Initially, sampling efforts were limited to a single station at the Town of Athabasca. In 1977, a second site was established at Old Fort, 200 km downstream of Ft. McMurray. Two additional sampling stations, situated upstream of both Hinton and Fort McMurray, were added in 1999 and 2002 respectively. The purpose of this report is to provide both a general overview of water quality conditions in the Athabasca River, in the form of summary statistics and time series graphs for all four sites, and more in-depth statistical trend analyses on long-term data for the Athabasca and Old Fort monitoring stations.

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Water management framework : instream flow needs and water management system for the lower Athabasca River

Description

This Water Management Framework is designed to protect the ecological integrity of the lower Athabasca River during oil sands development. It represents the work of Alberta Environment and... More ≫

Description

This Water Management Framework is designed to protect the ecological integrity of the lower Athabasca River during oil sands development. It represents the work of Alberta Environment and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA) a multi-stakeholder group that includes environmental groups, First Nations, industry and regulators has also contributed to this framework.

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Investigations of poly-chlorinated biphenyls in bottom sediments of the Bear-Wapiti-Smoky-Peace and Upper Athabasca river systems, 1989-2000

Description

Studies of contaminant distributions by the Northern River Basins Study (NRBS) revealed high levels of PCBs in fish in the upper Athabasca and in the Wapiti-Smoky rivers, relative to other areas... More ≫

Description

Studies of contaminant distributions by the Northern River Basins Study (NRBS) revealed high levels of PCBs in fish in the upper Athabasca and in the Wapiti-Smoky rivers, relative to other areas in the basins. In response to recommendations of the NRBS, the purpose of this work was to investigate the source and reasons for the PCB contamination. In co-ordination with other projects under the Northern Rivers Ecosystem Initiative (NREI) on fish, water, and benthos, this project investigated PCBs in river bottom sediments to see if there were spatial or temporal patterns that might identify the source(s) of contamination.

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Status of the pygmy whitefish (Prosopium coulteri) in Alberta

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This wildlife status report looks at the pygmy whitefish, a small, slim whitefish in Alberta that has been collected in specific habitats from only two locations in the province: Upper Waterton... More ≫

Description

This wildlife status report looks at the pygmy whitefish, a small, slim whitefish in Alberta that has been collected in specific habitats from only two locations in the province: Upper Waterton Lake and a restricted portion of the upper Athabasca River. This report is part of the Alberta Wildlife Status Report series, which provides comprehensive summaries of selected wildlife species intended to be useful to those managing populations of species and their habitats, and to help identify species that may be formally designated as endangered or threatened.

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Chlorinated anisoles and veratroles in a Canadian river receiving bleached kraft pulp mill effluent : identification, distribution, and olfactory evaluation

Description

One chlorinated anisole and three chlorinated veratroles have been identified an extracts of Athabasca River water collected in the winter downstream from a bleached kraft pulp mill effluent. The... More ≫

Description

One chlorinated anisole and three chlorinated veratroles have been identified an extracts of Athabasca River water collected in the winter downstream from a bleached kraft pulp mill effluent. The potential for causing off-flavours in the receiving waters was evaluated.

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An overview of long-term zoobenthic monitoring in Alberta rivers (1983-1987)

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The objectives of this report were to document the results of the first five years of zoobenthic monitoring (1983-1987), to assess their value and to evaluate the sampling design.

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Limnological aspects of the Peace and Athabasca Rivers

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This document contains copies of maps, graphs, and diagrams used for a lecture given to the Limnology undergraduate course in the Department of Zoology, University of Alberta, in November 1990.

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