Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
PoliticsRegulatory3TuesdayJanuary282014ConstituencyMeetingAllresidentswelcome.Pleasefeelfreetoattendandraiseanyconcernsorissues.ForfurtherinformationcalltheRefreshmentswillbeavailable.Hon.J.MichaelMiltenbergerMLAThebachawillbehostingaConstituencyMeetingonMondayFebruary32014at700p.m.attheNorthernLifeMuseum.GNWTstillintalkswithNEBAlbertaregulatorBothregulatorsexpectedtoprovidetechnicalsupportafterdevolutionByMEAGANWOHLBERGTheGNWThasconrmeditisstillinnegotiationswithboththeNationalEnergyBoardNEBandAlbertaEnergyRegulatorAERtoprovidetechnicalsupporttothenewNWTregulatorfol-lowingdevolutiondespiterumourstothecontrary.AnonymoussourceswithclosetiestogovernmenttoldTheJournallastweekthatpoliticalinterferenceatthefederallevelhadactuallyendednegotiationsbetweentheterritorialgovernmentandtheNEBinfavouroffarm-ingouttechnicalservicesex-clusivelytotheAERwhichhasmoreexperiencewithoilandgasregulation.DeborahArchibaldas-sistantdeputyministerofdevolutionimplementationconrmedlastweekthatthegovernmentisstillintalkswiththeNEB.Thoughnoth-inghasbeensettledyetshehintedthatservicesfromtheboardwouldlikelybediffer-entthanthoseprovidedbytheAER.OurnegotiationswiththeNEBaresowehavearrange-mentsinplaceMar.31forprojectsthatarestillactiveasofmidnight.WeremakingthosearrangementssotheycancontinuewhattheyredoingshetoldTheJournal.WealsoacknowledgetheNEBhasadepthofcorporateandscienticknowledgeintheNorththatweexpecttotapintofromtimetotimeshesaidwhiletheAERontheotherhandhasanum-beroftechnicalexpertswewanttodealwith.Itssafetosaybothorga-nizationshavealottooffersheadded.TheGNWTwillbecometheregulatorofonshoreoilandgasactivitiesintheNWTasofApr.12014whiletheNEBwillcontinuetoberesponsibleforregu-lationwithintheInuvialuitSettlementRegionandtheNormanWellsProvenAreaaslaidoutinthedevolutionagreement.Thoseactivitiesincludeeverythingfromexploratorydrillingtothedevelopmentofeldstotheconstructionandoperationofpipelinesandgatheringsystemsandgeo-physicalorseismicprograms.ThoughArchibaldsaidtheNWTregulator-madeupofrepresentativesfromthedepartmentsofLandsEnvironmentandNaturalResourcesandIndustryTourismandInvestment-willmakethenalcallonallassessmentsbecauseofcapacityissuesitwillrequiretechnicalsupportfromstaffoutsideoftheterritory.TheGNWTneedstohavethatcapacityonApr.1Archibaldsaid.Wecantdelegatethedecisionmak-ingprocesstoanyoneelsebutweacknowledgethatonApr.1wearenotgoingtohavethescopeandbreadthofthetechnicalservicesre-quiredtodoinspectionsorreviewapplications.Technicalstaffwillpro-videserviceslikeinspectionsalongwithcomplianceandenforcementtoensuretheprotectionofhumanhealthandsafetyaswellastheen-vironment.Theotherrolethestaffwillplayistoreviewapplicationsastheycomeintoensuretheycomplywithregulationsandpolicies.Thosestaffcouldincludewell-integrityspecialiststogeologists-whateverthenatureofaprojectdictates-whowillprovidethein-formationrequiredfortheGNWTtomakeadecision.TheGNWTwillthenundertakeitsowninternalprocessesofreviewinganapplicationfromtheperspec-tiveofourownpoliciesforexampleourLandUseandSustainabilityFrameworkortheWaterStrategyshesaid.InthatcontexttheGNWTcanmakeadecision.ThoughshecouldnotgiveatimeframeastohowlongtheAERorNEBwouldbeprovidingsupportservicesArchibaldsaidtheGNWTeventuallyhopestotakeovereverythingitself.Obviouslyconsistentwiththespiritandintentofdevo-lutionweintendtodothingsentirelywithintheGNWTinthefutureshesaid.NEBspokespersonTaraODonovanconrmedtheboardwasstillworkingonanagreementtofacili-tatethetransferofregula-toryresponsibilitiestotheGNWT.WhatweveagreedtowiththeGNWTistoassistthemasmuchaswecanwiththetransitionshesaid.AERspokespersonDarinBartersaiditisnotunusualforAlbertatoprovidesup-portoutsideoftheprovince.TheAERisfrequentlyaskedbyotherjurisdictionstoprovideregulatoryandtechnicalinsightandadvice.In2013wehadmorethanadozendelegationsvisittheAERhesaidinanemail.Hewouldnotcommentonthenatureorcostoftheser-vicestobeprovided.PhotocourtesyofTownofNormanWellsRegulatoryresponsibilityovertheNormanWellsProvenAreawillremainwiththeNationalEnergyBoardafterdevolutionalongwiththeInuvialuitSettlementRegion.FourthpipelinespillfoundinnorthernAlbertaByMARIACHURCHApacheCorp.isrespondingtoitsfourthpipelinespillinthelastyearonitspropertyinnorthernAlbertaafteraleakthatreleased1.6millionlitresoftoxicwastewaterontothenearbygroundwasdiscov-eredThursday.TheTexas-basedoilandgasproducerinformedtheAlbertaEnergyRegulatorAERoftheleakThurs-daymorningshortlyafteranApacheemployeedis-coveredproducedwaste-waterissuingfromawaterinjectionpipelineatBelloyField40kmnorthwestofWhitecourtAlta.Accordingtoreportstheleakspreadanestimated200metresfromthepipelinespillingdownanembank-mentandenteringasmallunnamedcreek.Wastewaterproduceddur-ingoilandgasextractioncon-tainsheavymetalssaltandothermineralsaswellastraceamountsofhydrocarbons.Thecompanyhasstatedthereisnodangertothepub-licandnoknownimpactstowildlifeatthistime.AfternotifyingAERApachedispatchedateamtothespillareatobeginre-mediationeffortsandmoni-torimpactsontheenviron-ment.Thusfarairqualitymonitoringhasdiscoverednoevidenceofhydrogensuldeahighlypoisonouschemicalusedinoilandgasproductionatthespillorcleanupsite.Thecompanyhaslaunchedaninvestigationintothecauseoftheleak.LastyearApachewasfacedwiththreepipelineleaksonitspropertiesinnorthernAlbertaincludingtwonearZamaCityoneofwhichreleasedthelargestvolumeforapipelinespillinrecentNorthAmericanhistoryafter15.4millionli-tresofwastewatercontam-inateda42-hectarewetlandareainJune.ThecompanyannouncedtheresultsofitsinvestigationintotheJunespillinOctoberwhichitsaidwascausedbystresscorrosioncrackinginthewaterinjectionpipeline.Accordingtothecom-panyapinholeintheplasticlinerofthepipeal-lowedwatertoleakthroughandmixwiththesulfurgascausingcorrosionandcrackingoftheexteriorsteelbands.Aweekafterthosere-sultswerereleasedan-otherspillwasfoundnearZamaestimatedtohavereleased1.8millionlitresofwastewater.Asecondpreviousleakreleasedasmallerunnamedamountearlierthatsummer.Apachestateditwouldbeinstallingreal-timemonitor-ingonnineofitswaterinjec-tionwellsintheZamaopera-tionsareathroughSCADAsupervisorycontrolanddataacquisition.AsofDecemberthecompanyhadtreatedandreleased110000cubicme-tresofwastewaterfromtheZamaspillbackintotheenvironment.Thecompanyiscontinu-ingdesalinationoftheaf-fectedareaaswellaswaterandwildlifemonitoringandsoilsampling.Accordingtotheirwebsitevegetationre-newalispending.EnvironmentPipelineSpill