By the McLennan Ross Energy, Environmental & Regulatory Team Introduction Under Alberta’s Surface Rights Act (“Act”), when a landowner and an oil and gas company (“Operator”) cannot agree, the amount of compensation payable for the granting of surface rights is determined by the Surface Rights Board (“SRB” or “Board”). Compensation orders of the SRB may be appealed by either party to the Court of Queen’s Bench (“Court”). The Act has unique rules with respect to the costs of those appeals and those rules are the subject of an interesting decision recently issued by the Court. In Lemay v ..read more

By the McLennan Ross Energy, Environmental & Regulatory Team In recognition of the compliance challenges many companies are encountering during the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada (the “ECCC”) has recently announced the ECCC’s intended approach during the crisis. While companies are expected to continue to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, and to operate in a manner that is safe and protects human health and the environment, ECCC will exercise discretion and take into account any challenges that regulated parties are facing w ..read more

 by Doug Evanchuk and Anna Fitz In the recent AltaLink Management Ltd. v Alberta Utilities Commission decision, the Alberta Court of Appeal provided important guidance with respect to utility ratemaking and First Nations interests. AltaLink had purchased a transmission system and sought to expand it across routes which crossed First Nations reserves. The First Nations groups affected agreed to the construction of transmission lines on their lands in exchange for an opportunity to obtain ownership interests in the transmission lines, and to participate in the energy transmission industry ..read more

by Logan Lazurko By Order in Council dated October 6, 2021, (O.C. 282/2021), the Lieutenant Governor in Council has made reappointments to the Environmental Appeals Board (the “Board”) under section 90 of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act for terms as follows: Effective October 21, 2021, expiring September 29, 2022: a)     Nick Tywoniuk Effective October 21, 2021, expiring October 20, 2023: a)     Brenda Ballachey; b)    Meg Barker; c)     Anjum Mullick Effective November 27, 2021, expiring November 26, 2 ..read more

 by Gavin Fitch, Q.C. and Marika Cherkawsky On October 6, 2021, the Lieutenant Governor in Council (provincial Cabinet) authorized the Natural Resources Conservation Board (“NRCB” or “Board”) to grant approval to Alberta Transportation and Alberta Environment and Parks to construct and operate the Springbank Offstream Reservoir Project (“SR1” or “Project”), located approximately 15 kilometres west of Calgary. The Board had issued a Decision Report on June 22 in which it found that the Project was in the public interest, having regard for social, economic, and environmental effects. Howeve ..read more

 By Gavin Fitch, Q.C. and Cesar Agudelo Introduction On June 17, 2021, the Joint Review Panel (“JRP”) of the Alberta Energy Regulator and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (“IAAC”) rejected a proposal by Benga Mining Ltd. (“Benga”) to develop a metallurgical coal mining project in the Crowsnest Pass region of southwestern Alberta. The JRP concluded the Grassy Mountain Coal Project (“Project”) would result in significant adverse environmental effects that would not be outweighed by the Project’s modest positive economic impacts. A close review of the Decision shows that the JRP found ..read more

 by Michael Barbero In a prior post, we reported on Bill 48, the Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act, 2020. As the name suggests, Bill 48 is part of the provincial government’s agenda to reduce “red tape” and speed up approval times while creating jurisdictional harmonization and improving service delivery. The majority of Bill 48’s most impactful changes took effect as of June 2, 2021. Many of these significant changes have been canvassed in our prior post. Here we focus on the creation of the Land and Property Rights Tribunal (“LPRT”) and what this change means for Albertans.  La ..read more

 by Stuart Chambers & Jeremy Dixon The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board (the “Board”) recently announced the release of several new policy documents that provide new rules for small projects in the Northwest Territories.[1] These new rules are designed to ease the burden of the Board’s regulatory system on smaller operators and projects. These new sets of rules are: the Method for Determining Available Winter Water Use Capacity for Small-Scale Projects; the Standards for Reporting Water Quality Information in the NWT; and the new Closure and Reclamation Tool (and the supporting ..read more

by Sean Parker and Kimberly Wasylenchuk[1] On March 26, 2021, Teck Coal Limited (“Teck Coal”) entered a guilty plea on two counts of unlawfully depositing a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish, contrary to s. 36(3) of the Fisheries Act. Teck Coal was ordered to pay a total of $60 million in fines and monetary court orders arising from the infractions under the Fisheries Act. In addition to the monetary penalty, Teck Coal was ordered to comply with direction given under the Fisheries Act requiring pollution reduction measures.[2] The charges resulted from an investigation by Env ..read more

By Sean Parkerand Anna Fitz On March 18, 2021, Partner Sean Parker and Associate Anna Fitz presented a webinar on obtaining costs awards at environmental tribunals, how tribunals award costs, and what sort of factors they consider. This article discusses the key points raised during the webinar (which can also be viewedhere[1]) as well as recent developments that have since taken place. The basis for awarding costs by an environmental tribunal is often different from costs awarded by a court. Courts generally follow the “loser pays” principle, which means that the party who is unsuccessful in ..read more