Wednesday, July 7, 2010
In yesterday's Montreal Gazette, this article
http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Politicians+cancel+oilsands+pollution+probe/3242727/story.html appeared regarding actions recently taken by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development. Apparently, the Committee had spent the past 18 months investigating water pollution resulting from oil sands operations in Alberta going so far as to travel to Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray to interview witnesses. At their June 17th meeting, it was decided that all copies of the report, both electronic and printed, would be destroyed, never to see the cold, hard light of day again.
Here's a screen cap of the Standing Committee's website showing the missingreport:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/CommitteeBusiness/StudyActivityHome.aspx?Cmte=ENVI&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=3&Stac=3052146Here's
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4642266&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=3 a screen cap of the minutes of the June 17th, 2010 meeting of the Standing Committee where they made the decision to cease the study of the oil sands in relation to Canada's water resources and that all circulated copies of confidential draft report be destroyed, save one, which will be kept on file for any member of the Committee to consult later (as if they will). Unfortunately, the meeting which took nearly one and a half hours to complete has very little information of use from this copy of its Minutes so we have no meaningful record of what took place and which MPs took positions recommending destruction of the study and which ones took positions supporting the study's publication. I guess national security could have been threatened had the detailed information from the meeting been allowed to leak to the public.
For the record, here are the members of the Committee: Scott Armstrong (Conservative), James Bezan (Conservative), Bernard Bigras (BQ), Blaine Calkins (Conservative - Alberta), Linda Duncan (NDP - Alberta), David J. McGuinty (Liberal), Christian Ouellet (BQ), Francis Scarpaleggia (Liberal), Justin Trudeau (Liberal - who was not present), Mark Warawa (Conservative), Jeff Watson (Conservative) and Stephen Woodworth (Conservative). I count 6 Conservatives, three Liberals, two Bloc Quebecois and one NDP member which makes the government to opposition split even. I also noted that two of the members were from Alberta.
According to Conservative MP James Bezan, Chair of the Committee, MPs were unable to agree on the final report but he doesn't state (in the Canwest report) exactly what they didn't agree on and who took what stance on cancellation or publication of the report. Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia has his own ideas on where the fickle finger of fate should point; he blames the Conservative government (as would be expected) for a lack of leadership on the oil sands and water file. Reading between the lines, it would appear that the six Conservative members voted against releasing the report. Apparently, Mr. Scarpaleggia is working on his own report on the matter based on evidence he heard while on the Committee.
According to the Canwest News Service article, the government, through Environment Canada, is currently categorizing industrial substances that could be toxic; it appears that they have excluded naphthenic acid, a byproduct of oil sands operations, from their "no-no" list at this time. The substance is now on a medium watch list and its status could change. It is felt that this may have been one of the sticking points that triggered the destruction of 18 months of "work" by the Committee.
Naphthenic acids are naturally present in the bitumen found in the tar sands of Northern Alberta as well as in conventional oils. They are one of the most significant environmental toxins resulting from the process of removing bitumen from the Athabasca tar sands. The toxin becomes dissolved and its concentration increased in the hot water used for processing the sand; water in the tailings ponds has concentrations of napthenic acids 100 times greater than background levels. Naphthenic acids are highly toxic to aquatic species, including microorganisms that are present in a river or wetland; repeated exposure can cause liver and brain damage. It is the primary reason why the water used in the tar sands processing cannot be discharged straight into the environment. Naphthenic acids are also persistent in the environment as they do not readily break down and can take decades to degrade. As well, because of its persistence, it can accumulate in fluvial sediments, being released during flooding events. Scientists at the National Water Research Institute of Environment Canada admit that ..."the general knowledge of environmental persistence, the occurrence and fate of napthenic acids have been sparsely studied.".
It would seem that the actions of the Standing Committee on the Environment are at least a bit suspect and they owe it to Canadians who have funded this boondoggle for 18 months an explanation as to why publication of the report was cancelled and at whose behest the investigation was ended.
In case you are interested in reading further, here's a fascinating report on the oil sands tailings ponds by Environmental Defence.
Link:
http://viableopposition.blogspot.com/----------------------------------------------------------------------------Politicians cancel oilsands pollution probe, tear up draft reportsMike De Souza, Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, July 06, 2010
OTTAWA - Federal politicians from the government and opposition benches have mysteriously cancelled an 18-month investigation into oilsands pollution in water and opted to destroy draft copies of their final report, Canwest News Service has learned.
The aborted investigation comes as new questions are being raised about the Harper government's decision to exempt a primary toxic pollutant found in oilsands tailings ponds from a regulatory agenda.
oilsands.jpg
Chris Schwarz/Canwest News Service
The government is in the process of categorizing industry-produced substances that could either be toxic or harmful, but has excluded naphthenic acid - a toxin from oilsands operations - from the list, and left it off another list of substances that companies are required to track and report.
The exclusion is "alarming" according to a letter sent Tuesday to Environment Minister Jim Prentice and Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, since the federal and Alberta governments have already identified it as a primary source of pollution in liquid waste dumped into ponds after companies extract oil from the region.
"Naphthenic acids are one of the main pollutants responsible for the toxicity of tarsands tailings to aquatic organisms, and have been shown to harm liver, heart and brain function in mammals," wrote Matt Price, the policy director at Environmental Defence, an independent research organization based in Toronto. "Naphthenic acids are also very long-lived, taking decades to break down."
Price also said in the letter that the federal and provincial governments are already allowing some of the toxins to leak into groundwater and surface water.
"It is therefore urgent that all tailings pollutants, and naphthenic acid in particular, be properly assessed and managed to minimize the risk to human and environmental health," he wrote.
Environment Canada said that a variety of acids from the oilsands are on a medium priorities list of its chemical-management plan, but have not yet been assessed. A spokeswoman explained in an e-mail that the government would also consider adding naphthenic acids to a list of substances that companies would be required to report following further study.
The petroleum sector is the only industry with its own stream of substances to be evaluated under the government's plan.
Meantime, Price added that the United States had moved forward with specific reporting requirements for the substance, urging the Harper government to follow suit, especially following the cancelled investigation in Parliament.
"The recent decision of the federal environment committee to abandon its work on a report regarding water and the oilsands industry heightens the need for the federal government to properly deal with oilsands pollution, or risk further undermining public trust in responsible oversight of the industry," Price wrote.
The MPs made the decision to terminate their investigation and destroy copies of their report in a meeting behind closed doors on June 17, and they have all declined to provide details on what happened apart from explaining that they failed to reach a consensus.
Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia, who spearheaded the parliamentary investigation on water pollution from the oilsands, blamed the government for dragging its feet on regulating the industry. He said he was working on his own report based on evidence and testimony gathered during parliamentary hearings.
"I . . . have no intention of letting go this subject that should be part and parcel of the true national water strategy Canadians demand and deserve," Scarpaleggia said. "The Conservative government has a lot of answering to do for its persistent lack of leadership on water in general and on oilsands and water in particular. The Conservative government's record on water and oilsands has been one of constant denial and foot-dragging."
Conservative MP James Bezan, who chairs the House of Commons environment committee, said he was disappointed that MPs were unable to agree on the final report, but believes the investigation has still brought important information into the public domain through the hearings and testimony from expert witnesses that have resulted in several independent reports and commentary.
"Over the next few weeks, I expect that you'll see the opposition parties and the government responding with their own considerations and recommendations on what we heard," Bezan said.
Environment Minister Jim Prentice has also recently announced that his department was investing $1.6 million in new technology to identify chemical fingerprints of toxins in the water to determine whether they are originating from specific oilsands operations.
And NDP environment critic Linda Duncan confirmed that she plans to produce her own report based on the committee's investigation. But she noted that some of the delays were caused by the government's decision to shut down Parliament at the end of last year.
"I'm very, very upset that it's dragged on this long," said Duncan. "It's absolutely shameful that the federal government is sitting on its hands."
In its investigation, MPs on the committee also travelled to hear from witnesses in Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray in Alberta, but figures on their budget were not immediately available.
© Canwest News Service 2010
Link:
http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=3242727----------------------------------------------------------------------------Besides toxicity, naphthenic acids are corrosive. Quote: "The presence of naphthenic acids in crude oils leads to the corrosion of oil refinery equipment, with the oil industry incurring costs that will ultimately be passed on to the consumer."
Link:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12622377