Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Elders from the community of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, the Mikisew Cree First Nation, and the Pembina Institute are declaring the Government of Alberta's Water Management Framework for the Athabasca River a failure. The Framework, officially released yesterday, allows the oilsands industry to withdraw water from the Athabasca River, even when it is at risk of significant ecological impacts due to low water flows.
During the winter months the Athabasca River's flows are naturally lower, but oilsands water withdrawals push down flows to levels that severely impact the River's fish population. First Nations groups continue to use the Athabasca River's fishery for both subsistence and commercial fishing, and are demanding that the fishery be protected.
"We're talking about the survival of the Athabasca River, but more than that this is about the survival of our people," said Pat Marcel, Chair of the ACFN Denesuline Traditional Environmental Knowledge Elders Committee. "The Governments of Alberta and Canada are failing us, and Minister Renner and Minister Hearn need to be held accountable."
The Framework uses a graduated approach to managing water withdrawals based upon flows in the River. Of most importance is the "red zone," in which River flows are at their lowest and industry withdrawals threaten the ecological sustainability of the River. The Framework still allows industry to collectively withdraw a large volume of fresh water, between 8 and 15 cubic metres of water per second, or enough to fill between 25 and 50 bathtubs each second.
"The Government's Framework misleads Albertans and Canadians because it does not require industry to turn off its pumps when the River hits the red zone," noted Dan Woynillowicz of the Pembina Institute.
The Framework pledges to continue to conduct scientific research and monitoring and to review the limits in September 2010. It identifies the Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA) as the likely organization to undertake this work, despite widespread acknowledgment that CEMA is a largely ineffective organization that has continually failed to meet deadlines.
"The Mikisew Cree First Nation rejects the new Framework because it follows the exact same management approach that we rejected in July 2006," noted Melody Lepine, Director of the Mikisew Cree First Nation Industry Relations Corporation. "We expressed our concerns on the Framework in three major Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (AEUB) hearings last year, and still the Government has failed to meet our expectations for protecting the Athabasca River. Our First Nation has left CEMA because it is so dysfunctional. We don't see how the Government can rely on CEMA to get the job done given its poor track record."
"It is clear from the Framework that the oilsands industry and Government are placing oil ahead of Albertans' fresh water," says Woynillowicz, "This Framework needs to be strengthened by including a clear limit that forces industry to stop withdrawals when the River is at risk."
All three groups are calling for the Government to immediately establish a limit that forces the industry to stop withdrawing water when the River is threatened, and are exploring legal and other actions.
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For more information contact:
Pat Marcel, Elder, Chair of the ACFN Denesuline Traditional Environmental Knowledge Elders Committee
Phone: 780-697-3300/697-3745
Chief Archie Cyprien, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
Phone: 780-697-3730/697-3899
Melody Lepine, Director, Industry Relations - Mikisew Cree First Nation
Phone: 780-714-6500 x 222
Dan Woynillowicz, Senior Policy Analyst, Pembina Institute
Cell: 403-888-6272
Background
The Athabasca River winds 1,538 kilometres from its source at the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park to Lake Athabasca in Wood Buffalo National Park. It is Alberta's longest river, and one of North America's longest undammed rivers. It enters Lake Athabasca at the Peace-Athabasca Delta, which is the largest boreal delta in the world, a World Heritage Site, and one of the most important waterfowl nesting and staging areas in North America. Water withdrawals for oilsands surface mining operations pose threats to both the sustainability of fish populations in the Athabasca River and to the Peace-Athabasca Delta. The lower Athabasca River, where oilsands mining operations are situated, offers habitat for these species throughout their life cycle - from eggs, and fry, to juveniles and adults. The river provides an important migratory route from Lake Athabasca to spawning areas upstream of Fort McMurray, as well as to tributary watercourses.
The use of water by oilsands development already accounts for 65 per cent of withdrawals from the Athabasca River. Oilsands surface-mining operations use water to extract the tar-like bitumen and turn it into synthetic crude oil, requiring between two and 4.5 cubic metres of water to produce just one cubic metre of oil. Already oilsands operations have been licensed to withdraw about 349 million cubic metres of water per year, more than twice the volume required from the Bow River for the city of Calgary's domestic needs.
The ecological integrity of all of Alberta's river ecosystems depends on adequate river flows. The Athabasca River is subject to variable seasonal flows, with the lowest flow periods occurring between November and March when run-off is limited and much of the river is flowing under ice. The River's ecosystem and fish populations are most sensitive to wintertime water withdrawals in those years when low rates of precipitation in the Athabasca Basin lead to unusually low river flows. The river's instream flow needs (IFN) is a threshold that represents the minimum amount of water flow that must be flowing to maintain the health of the river's ecosystem. Oilsands water withdrawals during this time further reduce the river's flow, which reduces fish habitat and affects fish populations.
The Water Management Framework allows oilsands withdrawals to continue while additional research is conducted. As such, the government will make decisions about current and proposed projects that allow withdrawals in the red zone. This will preclude any significant effort by the oilsands industry to develop and implement new technologies and practices that enable them to manage their withdrawals in a manner that ensures the protection of the Athabasca River.
The oilsands industry has a number of cost-effective options available to mitigate or reduce its water requirements. These include improving the efficiency of its water use, increasing its rate of water recycling and storing larger volumes of water on-site. In addition, the industry could store water in offstream reservoirs upstream of its operations.
