SCOPE
This document summarizes the Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), within the Canadian oil and gas industry, on both the Federal and Ontario Provincial levels. It factors in the necessary transportation, processes and infrastructure that will be be required for the implementation of the proposed investment.
Strategic Environmental Assessment
I. Transportation
a. Federal & Provincial Rail Regulation
b. Transatlantic ii. Refinery
a. Partial Refinement
Environmental Impact Assessment: Physical Infrastructure
i. Refinery ii. Storage Fields iii. Rail Infrastructure
Safety Regulations
i. Shipping
European Union Regulations
i. Life Cycle Regulation ii. Climate Change Mitigation
Other Considerations
i. Treaty Rights
Canadian Life Cycle Assessments ii. Energy Sector Examples
I. Strategic Environmental Assessment
The aim of an SEA is to ensure that all aspects of the proposed investment (i.e. the transport and refinement processes), in terms of the policy and planning, have taken into consideration the environment and possible sources of sustainability. This must be done on both a provincial, Ontario, and a national level.
i.Transportation
The transportation of oil and gas from Western Canada to the German receiver port will require Federal Rail regulation, as well as Ontario Rail regulations. These Rail regulations cover the portion of the transportation from Western Canada to the Great Lakes. Regulations
By far, The Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion provides benefits towards the Canadian economy; however, the detriment out weigh the potential benefits. Trans Mountain’s expansion proposal promises to implement many job opportunities for the less fortunate, but one must consider the drawback associated with this issue. If the environment undergoes a single oil spill, nearly half the jobs among multiple industries may be terminated. To continue, the economy, although many differ, will undergo an unhealthy economy due to the inflation that will occur with the expansion of the pipelines. To add on, economic growth leads to more transportation, which most likely will cause an oil spill to occur; therefore, harming the economy in terms of growth,
After graduating from North Carolina State University with my Bachelor’s in Environmental Technology and Management and a minor in Environmental Toxicology, I knew that I would want to spend the rest of my career being dedicated to the environmental field. With my grandfather and father working in the petroleum industry, the precedents set before myself, I knew I’d like to continue in the industry by combining my family’s history of working the petroleum pipeline industry, with my dedication to the environmental field. The events such as the Exxon Valdez spill and the Deepwater Horizon spill have driven me to want to learn more about the effects left on the environment in which it happened in and new
There are many by products produced in the oil sands process, many of these are air emissions containing nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and volatile organic compounds. All of these have a detrimental effect on the ecological environment and the employees working around them. Suncor is utilizing complete Environmental Informational Management System (EIMS) implementation for air data for all assets, and investing in equipment and technology to achieve emission reductions. Suncor is continually generating air-related emissions data for reporting purposes, and continues to
Agriculture, Forestry and Soils: such as: farming and other rural enterprises, farm buildings, related land use and woodland planting, ancient woodlands;
This publication from the Government of Alberta’s Department of Energy tries to focus on an all-around view of the oil sands. It talks about what they are, how they work, and environmental problems and solutions. The publication is not nearly as current as some other sources, it was published late 2008. It is free from bias but tries to stay overly optimistic, something is a “challenge” not an environmental concern. Since it is a government source it is mostly objective but does try to keep the oil sands in a positive view, possibly to benefit our economy. The publication is factual, accurate, and has a limited bias
The Alberta oil sands operations are the fastest growing source of heat-trapping greenhouse gas in Canada. Therefore, as environmental concerns increase with amplified pollution, governments must ensure policies are in place as to avoid further environmental damage. Currently the government does not enforce enough environmental policies to properly protect this beautiful country and its people. Moreover, the alternative components of the oil sands business contribute an enormous amount of environmental destruction. Pipelines to transport crude oil from the refineries to cities across North America cut across sacred land and pipelines and freighters have high possibility of spillage. Furthermore, the damage to human health from water contamination and air pollution is a major concern, the oil sands business causes massive detriment to human wellbeing. Lastly, the surrounding area of the oil sands are deeply affected. The deforestation of the boreal forest and the toxic tailings ponds that surround the operation endanger wildlife and the environment.
Enbridge estimates that 99% of the crude oil from Alberta is transported to the United States. Currently though, America 's demand for imported oil is decreasing (AsiaPacific.ca/Canadian Oil), as oil-exploitation in the
The oil production in Canada has several significant issues that depict the destruction nature of the industry. These issues can be categorized as environmental, political, economic, and social. The environmental issues lead the pack; in that the environmental destruction associated with the industry is extensive. The environmental problems are climatic, land, water and air related (Best & Hoberg, 2015). Under climatic effect, studies indicate that the development of the tar sides has resulted to three times more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than in production of conventional oil. These environmental issues are caused by the composition of the tar sands. Unlike the convention oil, tar sands are a mixture of bitumen and sand. The process of separating the two results triples GHGs emissions when compared to conventional oil production (Koring, 2013).
Assess the potential environmental impact of a proposed construction project on the local natural environment.
The proper utilization of Canada’s abundant supply of natural resources which need to be exported around the globe by ship is a commitment given by the Government of Canada(GoC). Federal Government has taken concrete measures to convince Canadian public that the Canadian Waters are safe for maritime transportation.
The Division of Environmental Assessments is now a very important governmental unit, because its mandate has been switched from environmental impact assessment to assessment of environmental plans of oil and gas developments. Based on the importance of oil and gas, this division is clearly under pressure to meet demands and expectations of clients. For this reason, the leadership as well as team members working with the division must employ new strategies that not only increase their efficiency, but also encourage them to work together as a team. This paper analyses some of the problems facing the Division of Environmental Assessments, as well as some solutions aimed at improving employee experience.
Social Factors - The California Pizza Kitchen sells pizzas, pastas, salads, etc. and the ambience of the restaurants is quite informal and homely. Its primary key to its success has been that they were the first pizza restaurant that offered fresh and non-traditional ingredients for its pizzas. On a whole, the American consumer base is traditionally not very nutritional conscience when it comes to dining out. Regionally, the consumer preferences are suiting the business model of the company in most areas; however changes in the consumer
* A formal process to predict the environmental consequence of human development activities and to plan an appropriate measure to eliminate or reduce the adverse impacts and to augment positive impacts.
Environmental Impact Assessment is widely used in Canada as an instrument for development, planning and decision making. The institutional arrangements fix this purpose are both well developed and administratively complex. Canada is a federal state in which responsibility for EIA is divided between the National Level, ten provinces, two territories, municipal and First Nation jurisdictions. All of these jurisdictions have established operational EIA systems which are characterized by a mix of common and distinctive elements. In addition, various joint EIA regimes have been created under federal and provincial agreements, and separate processes are in place in a number of
Being the second largest producer of oil in Canada, oil is big business in Saskatchewan. Oil mining brings in hundreds of millions of dollars for the Saskatchewan government every year, but is the money really worth it for the amount of damage it causes to the earth? Since 1990, there have been 18 893 incidents of oil being leaked in Saskatchewan. In these incidents, about 31.7 billion liters of oil has been leaked, but only 287 million liters of that oil has been recovered. Extruding oil can release many harmful substances into the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, and onto the land that we live on. Although oil generates a large amount of revenue for the government of Saskatchewan, its negative effects on the environment can not be overlooked.