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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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Environmental Assessment - Parsons Creek Aggregates Limestone Quarry Project - EIA Report and application for approval

Description

Environmental Impact Assessment and associated applications pertaining to the proposed Parsons Creek Aggregates Parsons Creek Aggregates Limestone Quarry Project. The proposal is for a limestone... More ≫

Description

Environmental Impact Assessment and associated applications 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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Evaluation of four reports on contamination of the Athabasca River system by oil sands operations

Description

This publication includes the technical evaluation, recommendations and general conclusions drawn from four reports of contamination of the Athabasca River system by oil sands operations. The four... More ≫

Description

This publication includes the technical evaluation, recommendations and general conclusions drawn from four reports of contamination of the Athabasca River system by oil sands operations. The four reports included two papers written by a team of scientists led by Drs. David Schindler and Erin Kelly of the University of Alberta, one Alberta Environment report written by T. Hebben, and a report from the Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program.

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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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Environmental Assessment - Synenco Energy Inc. Northern Lights Oil Sands Mine Project - Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and application for approval

Description

Environmental Impact Assessment and associated applications pertaining to the proposed Synenco Energy Inc. Northern Lights Oil Sands Mine Project. The proposal involves an oil sands surface mine... More ≫

Description

Environmental Impact Assessment and associated applications pertaining to the proposed Synenco Energy Inc. Northern Lights Oil Sands Mine Project. The proposal involves an oil sands surface mine and bitumen extraction facilities, including associated infrastructure, with a production capacity of 114,500 barrels per day. The location is approximately 100 km northeast of Fort McMurray in the Municipality of Wood Buffalo. The project was withdrawn in 2008. For more information on the environmental assessment process visit ea.alberta.ca.

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Assessment of potential water storage sites and diversion scenarios

Description

The purpose of this study was to assess and rank previously identified potential water storage sites and diversion projects in Alberta, the information for which was compiled in a previous (2005)... More ≫

Description

The purpose of this study was to assess and rank previously identified potential water storage sites and diversion projects in Alberta, the information for which was compiled in a previous (2005) Alberta Environment project inventory. This study was implemented address "reliable, quality water supplies for a sustainable economy" as part of the provincial Water for Life Strategy.

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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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