The provincial government of Alberta said on Tuesday that it intended to set up new environmental standards. As part of the measures conservation areas in lower Athabasca will be increased to 22%.
The new environmental standards will outline specific benchmarks for water contamination in areas that are affected by the growing oil sands production in the west of Canada.
The new development plan for the oil sands region would set aside about 2 million hectares of land in the region for conservation. This would let motorized recreation and also allow the existing oil and gas leases to function but in a much smaller area than originally allowed. It will also need the cancellation of 10 existing oil sand leases but the names of the companies affected were not revealed by the government.
Environmental groups have been attacking the oil sand industry on issues of strip mining, tailing ponds and higher than average greenhouse gas emissions. The industry accounts for half of the 1.9 million barrels a day of oil that Canada exports to the United States. The output was expected to double in the current decade but the growth rate is now linked to the industry’s ability to overcome the environmental issues being raised.
The First Nations are keen on the provincial government protecting the air, land and water in the region. The first draft of the new government policy disappointed Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation who said that it fails to meaningfully engage First Nations in land management decisions in accordance with their aboriginal and treaty rights.