Imperial Oil has hauled in more than $1 billion in profit in each of the last two quarters.
So the $50,000 fine the Canadian energy giant received last week from Alberta’s oil and gas regulator for toxic leaks at its Kearl Lake oil sands mine is not much of a blip on the bottom line.
Like some cartoon blunderbuss with a curved barrel, the Alberta Energy Regulator did more damage to its own reputation with the “administrative penalty” than it did to the oil sands juggernaut.
And the ongoing story of Kearl Lake is sliming the Alberta government’s boasts that the province is the best-regulated energy jurisdiction in the world.
The $50,000 fine is the highest administration penalty available in this case, according to the AER. The regulator has also demanded Imperial develop and report on mitigation plans and research the environmental effects of polluted wastewater — also not much of a stretch for the oil giant.
To be fair, the AER says its investigation into Kearl’s leaks continues so there might be more consequences at a later date.
The chief of the Fort Chipewyan First Nation which lives downstream from the plant, was predictably outraged by the small fine. He’s also adamant that the AER’s status as an arm’s length independent body is a myth.
“They washed their hands clean and said, ‘Screw you, Fort Chip.’ If you ask the people of the community, they’ll tell you the same thing: The government doesn’t care about us.”
The Fort Chipewyan First Nation, which hunts and fishes in the vicinity of the plant, is suing the AER for failing to properly inform the band about the spill.
Kearl Lake’s oil sands project produced an average of 277,000 barrels of oil a day in the first quarter of 2024.
But the project produces pollutants too, including the never solved conundrum of wastewater. In 2022 a seepage of toxic water containing sulphates, iron, dissolved metals, hydrocarbons and arsenic was discovered at the site, but not communicated to First Nations living downstream from the mine. Then in 2023 a drainage storage pond spilled about 5 million litres of waste water into the environment, which finally precipitated notice to the nearby communities.
Imperial’s own testing has found shallow groundwater with contaminants 150 metres from the Kearl boundary and deep groundwater contamination a kilometre from the site.
The AER and Imperial both say there have been no impacts on wildlife and drinking water in the surrounding rivers and lakes is safe.
Imperial says it’s sorry about the pollution. It has stepped up its efforts to contain future seepage and keeps an exhaustive log of public reports on progress on mitigation efforts on its website.
The AER also promises it’s going to get much more transparent about communicating its findings in cases like the Kearl Lake spill. The agency was raked over the coals in federal parliamentary hearings into the event for its secrecy.
Transparency is one thing, but effective regulation and enforcement is another altogether.
There are more shoes to drop on the Imperial saga.
The federal government still has cards to play. Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault visited Fort Chip in early August to announce the feds will put $12 million into a 10-year health study of the community, which has long suspected the upstream oil sands mines and plants are causing high incidents of severe health issues.
Never one to shy away from stirring the pot, Guilbeault said the Alberta government hasn’t replied to an invitation to chip in for the study.
Without addressing the federal plan, the Alberta environment minister’s office said the provincial government has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation to explore a health study.
The federal environment department’s enforcement branch is also investigating the Imperial Oil seepage and wastewater spill to determine if there has been a violation of the federal Fisheries Act.
It could get very interesting if that investigation ever leads to a conviction and a heftier fine than that imposed by the AER.
