Allan Adam, Chief of Fort Chipewyan First Nation regarding AER’s $50,000.00 fine:
“The CEO makes that in half a day”
I think AER issued this tiny conman fine with loud acclaim and lied about it being the max they were able to do to intentionally give tarsands miners (and frac’ers) the legal precedent (aka freedom) to empty/dump their toxic waste lakes into the watershed for peanuts, saving them years of work and billions of dollars in clean up costs.
Martin Z. Olszynski@molszyns:
Hi @AER_news. Your friendly local envirolaw professor here, informing you that you can’t order @ImperialOil to study the potential ecosystem impacts of releasing oil sands processed water (OSPW) w/out approval from @environmentca, or contravene s. 36(3) of the Fisheries Act.
And whilst I am here, I can find absolutely no basis for the purported $50K “limit” administrative monetary penalty (AMP). Happy to be corrected. #ableg
AER is satanic and horrifically corrupt and cruel. They bully harmed Albertans and lie to the public with glee. AER is the self regulator of aquifer and life destroying polluters. Think AER workers are incompetent!? Think again. They are smart conniving fuckers, serving polluters and their enablers and the uber rich. Staff and upper management are picked – often from industry – for their lack of integrity, their eager ambition (the more ambition, the more easily corruptible), dishonesty and lack of heart and soul.
@NdbYyc1305:
Drew and I disagree on this one. I think that the misstatement was most likely deliberate. I think that Drew believes that it was simple incompetence on the part of the AER comms department.
Neither interpretation is good for the AER.
@DrewYewchuk:
I expected the AER to fix the press release after the problem was pointed out to them, and I am surprised they have not done so.
https://twitter.com/molszyns/status/1829182212983664811
Andrew Friesen@friesen_f:
Such a limit would make polluting profitable
Kim Siever@kim_siever:
Imperial Oil has been fined $50,000.
Their net income (profit) for the first half of 2024 was $2,328,000,000.
This fine is 0.0021% of their profit.
Not their revenue. Their profit.
Pay to pollute.
Jason P.@JasonPYYC:
And that’s off profit not revenue. It’d be even less. Pennies.
Alberta You See Pee@youseepeeYYC:
To further put this math into context, if a worker had a salary of $50,000, 0.0021% of that salary would be $1.05.
The oil company was basically fined a buck.
Eve O Destruction@GonnaFry:
Alberta Energy Regulator encourages Imperial Oil to pollute our water for a trivial fee
GwP @email hidden; JavaScript is required@littleolmeyup:
Here’s what rocks me off. To the average person $50,000 sounds like a lot of money. To a corporation as huge as Imperial Oil a mosquito bite would be more annoying. IO will be laughing its way to the next scandal. No impact on them whatsoever. This is wrong.
Jeff Cavanagh@JeffCavanagh1:
They paid their lawyers more to get this gentle reprimand.
Ranting Canuck@RantingCanuck:
It’s the equivalent of an average person getting a speeding ticket for $1.06
Shasta – “No Longer Fixing Typos” – Morgen@ShastaMorgen:
You mean the AER whose board of includes Smith’s pal Dave Yager? No surprise that the ‘penalty’ is peanuts. They are laughing at us—all the way to the bank.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation@ACFN_KaiTaile Aug 23, 2024:
PRESS RELEASE: ACFN’s response to the AER’s laughable Exxon-Imperial fine.
The $50,000 fine is less than the CEO of Imperial makes in a single day
jack mcgraw@redmcgraw1:
Fines this size will never stop a corporation from doing this.
Criminal charges of executives are needed
Courtney Theriault@cspotweet:
“The Alberta Energy Regulator has sent a clear message to companies around the world- come here and dump all of you toxic waste in our drinking water.”
Seems the AER’s penalties levied against Imperial and its Kearl site might not be sufficient, according to the First Nation.
Minimum Wage Stormtrooper@UCPlease_NO:
The AER is a captured agency, a complete disgrace.
Bryce Waterford@BryceWaterford:
It is cheaper to pollute and pay the fine than to take action to remediate the problem.
A Dave you know you know@NotJustDave:
This is like fining me a nickle.
GrantG@GrantG90545721:
“A $50,000 administrative penalty will also be imposed on Imperial, representing the maximum base penalty table amount permissible under the regulation and including a representative daily amount.”
That regulation needs some updating.
Imperial Oil 2023 operating revenue was 1.9 million dollars per day.
They make more money in 37 minutes than that penalty.
Walter Makey. He/Him, Cis. Bivalent powered vaxxed@MakeyWalter:
That fine will be given back to Imperial (and then some) with some kind of tax break or subsidy.
Cheryl Bozarth BSc@CherylBozarth:
The federal govt is spending $12 000 000 to study the toxic impacts from this type of contamination & you are only fining this multi billion dollar, profitable, big polluter a measly $50 000? They are laughing ‘with’ you! What an absolute joke! The AER needs to go! #ableg #Kearl
Arthur Hagan@ArthurHagan7:
A $50,000 penalty is preposterous. The government needs to increase penalties in the range of $10 million maximums for this regulation to be effective!
Roddy@BouRaad1:
Haha, little slap on the wrist for @ImperialOil
Penalties need to be a % of annual profit if you want @imperialoil
to actually take regulations seriously.The AER is industry’s self regulator, propagandist and pimp. Of course the fines/punishments are non punishing with intent to set the stage for all companies to legally evade clean up.
Alberta Energy Regulator@AER_news Aug 22, 2024:
News Release
Alberta Energy Regulator penalizes????? This tiny fine is a massive gift to tar polluters and likely frac’ers too. Imperial Oil, releases first findings from ongoing Kearl investigation. Read more: https://www.aer.ca/providing-information/news-and-resources/news-and-announcements/news-releases/news-release-2024-08-22
A Dave you know you know@NotJustDave:
This is like fining me a nickle.
Walter Makey. He/Him, Cis. Bivalent powered vaxxed@MakeyWalter:
That fine will be given back to Imperial (and then some) with some kind of tax break or subsidy.
Bruce Kaufman@Bruce4NoseHill:
Why such a small, insignificant penalty? Asking for Albertans.
GrantG@GrantG90545721:
“A $50,000 administrative penalty will also be imposed on Imperial, representing the maximum base penalty table amount permissible under the regulation and including a representative daily amount.”
That regulation needs some updating.
Imperial Oil 2023 operating revenue was 1.9 million dollars per day.
They make more money in 37 minutes than that penalty.
dru tom ass@bigbaddru:
50k is nothing to them
if anything, this will just encourage misbehaviour
Steve Elaschuk@TheRealElaschuk:
Only $50,000?!
Big. Fucking. Deal.
BC Reality@BCReality;
That fine is WEAKER than a @PierrePoilievre handshake. Make it matter, dish up something with 7 zeros behind it.
The Krow@DJKrow74:
I’m old enough to remember when the AER was a respectable organization, this is a travesty. But an affordable “whoops, we got caught” for Imperial.
Cheryl Bozarth BSc@email hidden; JavaScript is required@CherylBozarth:
The federal govt is spending $12 000 000 to study the toxic impacts from this type of contamination & you are only fining this multi billion dollar, profitable, big polluter a measly $50 000? They are laughing ‘with’ you! What an absolute joke! The AER needs to go! #ableg #Kearl
Roddy@BouRaad1:
Haha, little slap on the wrist for @ImperialOil
Penalties need to be a % of annual profit if you want @imperialoil to actually take regulations seriously.
Arthur Hagan@ArthurHagan7:
A $50,000 penalty is preposterous. The government needs to increase penalties in the range of $10 million maximums for this regulation to be effective!
Paul Chandler@PaulCha94025901:
Wow what a complete failure of our industry captured AER.
Protectthefishery@NOINFILL2022:
It will cost me the same amount to have a water well put on my property.Cmon man. #ableg #abpoli
CynicSaint@CynicSaint:
Guarantee the AER spent more to investigate this then the full value of the associated fine. This company made over 2 billion in profits this year. Just shut the whole fucking regulator down and send the budget back to something useful. Orphan well fund maybe?
Red Ninety@red90rover:
1.2 seconds of their profit. They will be scared now…roaring laughter! too funny, too pathetic.
danielduke@danield75442562:
AER is joke.
Crunch Franklin@CrunchFranklin:
Toothless garbage lol
Woke up Alberta: @ConsChaos4ever @ImperialOil and all @cdnoilsands operators give much more in gifts to certain ☠️ politicians on a monthly basis than this inconsequential fine. Perhaps the ☠️ UCP appointed AER board members are taking gifts as well. Alberta politics is more toxic than tailing ponds poison.
Blue check = Far Right Wing propaganda account@mikeross_YYC:
50k?? … Thats their bar tab for one night at the Stampede for fucks sakeor whining and dining judges and politicians at Calgary’s Petroleum Club
Bill Gallagher@ResourceRulers:
.@the_PDAC @northernminer @cdnoilsands
another bad-news narrative for miners as downstream FNs appear to be on their own after shit-hits-the-fan (Kearl leakage) RR says again very little public info no doubt lawyers working overtime to keep it that way
@the_PDAC @cdnoilsands @ImperialOil
$50K fine on Kearl – drop in the bucket when to factor in that CEO Corson has been bragging about Kearl production numbers ever since he apologized to Parliament – funny PR – not funny for ACFN
go Alberta Advantage!
Jonnette Watson Hamilton@JWatsonHamilton:
The $50K penalty is, as @DrewYewchuk noted about Imperial Oil and its Kearl site, not the end of the matter: “the AER says the investigation is ongoing, so this is a partial regulatory response.” There is still some hope for justiceYou gotta be fucking kidding! Sure, there’s heaps of feeble hope but rarely “justice” in Caveman Canada’s rape & pillage enabling legal-judicial industry. Canada’s judges and lawyers are the biggest contributors of the injustices befalling those harmed by industry., even if it’s faint due to regulatory capture.
Leaders in Fort Chipewyan, Alta., urge people to avoid Lake Athabasca over contamination concerns, ‘It’s nothing new,’ says elder in Fort Chipewyan by Jenna Dulewich, CBC News, Aug 23, 2024
Community leaders in Fort Chipewyan, Alta., are asking residents there to stay away from Lake Athabasca, citing concerns about the water quality and possible contamination.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam and Fort Chipewyan Métis president Kendrick Cardinal have both posted messages on social media recently, asking people in the community to stay away from the shoreline, not swim in the water and not consume the lake water. Both cited concerns about possible contamination in the water and said they’re awaiting water quality results.
“For now, I figure it’s probably best not to swim around the dock, and the front of the lakefront of Fort Chipewyan, and be safe and check yourself and make sure that you watch out for your health,” Cardinal told CBC in a phone interview.
The office of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation chief declined to comment further to CBC News, saying they are awaiting water quality test results.
The potential contaminants in the water could be a mix of things, according to Cardinal. He noted there are barges that frequently travel through Lake Athabasca, and highlighted the fact that the community is downstream from the Alberta oil sands.
“It’s not just one thing — it’s a whole combination of things,” he said.
Fort Chipewyan has a population of approximately 850, according to 2021 data from Statistics Canada.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation has asked for independent water-quality testing, with leaders saying results should be back in two to three weeks. Those results will then be shared with community members, according to the First Nation.
Meantime, the Alberta government told CBC News the province has also been working with the regional municipality to increase drinking water quality monitoring.
“Expert monitoring in Lake Athabasca and 12 supporting river and stream locations has produced over 40 tests during the last 14 months, with every one meeting the Health Canada standards for drinking water,” Tom McMillan, director of communications with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, wrote in an emailed statement.
CBC News also reached out to Environment and Climate Change Canada about the quality of water, since the Fort Chipewyan wharf on Lake Athabasca is owned by the federal government. CBC asked if the department or Transport Canada is testing for contaminants in the water.
A spokesperson with Environment and Climate Change Canada said they are “consulting a few subject matter experts within different divisions of the department” to provide a response.
‘It’s nothing new’
Concerns about contaminants in the water are not new for many people living in Fort Chipewyan.
Elder Alice Rigney is a regular user of the land in the area and said she has long known there are questions about the water in Lake Athabasca.
“It’s nothing new, we all knew that — I mean, the dock is a place where barges and boats are always loading and unloading, so there’s always gas on the surface. And what’s coming down from the oil sands, it does leach into the river system,” Rigney said.
Fort Chipewyan is located on the southwest corner of Lake Athabasca, downstream from the oil sands.
Last March, news broke that a tailings pond at Imperial Oil’s Kearl facility leaked millions of litres of contaminated wastewater into muskeg and forested areas south of Lake Athabasca, and that the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) —charged with holding industry accountable and protecting the environment — was made aware of the spill nine months prior.
The public later learned that documents filed by Imperial to the AER as early as 2020 acknowledge tailings were seeping from its containment ponds.
- Alberta regulator fines Imperial Oil over Kearl tailings pond leaks
- Canada to fund health study for Indigenous communities downstream of oilsands
“They know that there’s something going on — we’ve known it forever,” Rigney said. “It’s just that it has fallen on deaf ears.”
While there was an initial lack of communication with residents about the Kearl spill, there was also a lack of notification with the N.W.T. government — raising questions about whether a transboundary water agreement was breached. Alberta denied the idea there was a breach.
Test results expected in 2 to 3 weeks
For now, leaders in Fort Chipewyan say people should avoid the lake until further testing is done.
In Adam’s public video, he says between the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Fort Chipewyan Métis and Mikisew Cree First Nation, people will be conducting water and soil samples from Lake Athabasca.
Results are expected back in two to three weeks, Cardinal said.
“We’ve all known for the longest time that there’s something wrong with the water here … I’m sick and tired of it and I’m not going to stand for it anymore,” Cardinal said in his Facebook video.
“I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure that this community is kept safe and the water is clean.”
Alberta Energy Regulator penalizes Imperial Oil, releases first finding from ongoing Kearl investigation Lies & Propagandaby AER, Aug 24, 2024
CALGARY, AB, August 22, 2024 – Today, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) announced it has imposed an administrative penalty and terms and conditions on Imperial Oil (Imperial) as a result of two contraventions of its approval conditions. The AER also released the first findings from its ongoing investigation into potential contraventions at the Kearl site, following the issuance of the Environmental Protection Order in February 2023.
These findings and resulting compliance and enforcement decisions do not encompass all potential contraventions that may have occurred at Kearl and that are being managed under the terms of the EPO. The investigation remains ongoing.
This portion of the AER’s investigation determined that a shallow subsurface pathwayfancy way to say intentional waste dump and or spill from on-lease industrial wastewater sources bypassed the existing deep groundwater Seepage Interception System (SIS), which resulted in the off-lease release. To date no impacts to fish, amphibians, or other wildlife have been reported to the AER.Does not mean they did not happen.
As a result, the AER is imposing two key projects (terms and conditions) on Imperial as well as an administrative penalty.
Under the terms and conditions, Imperial must submit and implement a proposal for a Quality Assurance Project for sharing lessons learned with other oil sands operators and develop a plan to ensure tailings seepage mitigation and monitoring processes are completed. Translation: Help other tar polluters get away with dumping their toxic waste and contaminating the watershed and ground water too. The plan must consider tailings dam design for existing and future tailings dams and ensure quality assurance and quality control processes are applied through the design, construction and operation phases. It must also include a detailed timeline, interim reports, and produce a final report that includes public and industry education.
The proposal must also include a preliminary research roadmap outlining planned Indigenous community and stakeholder engagement Translation: Get better at keeping your fucking leaks and spills and law violations secret, FFS! Especially from local communities, notably Indigenous for inputs, including traditional knowledge, if applicable, to the formulation of the research objectives and methodology development.
Additionally Imperial must submit and implement a proposal for an Industrial Wastewater (Process Affected Water and CST Porewater) Release Research Project to further study and understand the potential impacts of the release of industrial wastewater (including process affected water and CST porewater) on the ecosystem. This will include impacts on fish and aquatic ecosystems, soil, vegetation, wildlife, and public safety, with a detailed timeline, regular progress reports, and a final report that includes public and industry education.
Both projects require the publication of final reports to be publicly posted on the company’s website. All work and reporting under these terms and conditions must be conducted by qualified personnel and all work conducted by Imperial employees must be verified by qualified independent third parties, ensuring that the results are credible and reliable.To better keep the tar industry’s crimes secret and to better con harmed locals and the public with.
A significant aspect of the imposed terms and conditions is to enhanceimproved efficiency at keeping bad things secret while loudly promoting lies and propagandatransparency and share lessons learned with the industry and local communities including public and industry education initiatives to improve overall practices and response strategiesnotably improving keeping secrets.
By setting clear requirements for project proposals, progress reports, and final reports, the AER is ensuring that Imperial is held accountable and supporting continuous environmental improvement.
A $50,000 administrative penalty will also be imposed on Imperial, representing the maximum base penalty table amount permissible under the regulation and including a representative daily amount.Yup, self regulation works wonders for criminal polluters, notably those spewing mega shit loads of toxic waste.
The AER continues its oversight of Imperial Oil’s compliance with the EPO, to help ensure its top priorities ofimproving effective cover-up and secrecy public safety and the protection of the environment.
An administrative penalty and terms and conditions, are two of many kisses, hugs and benefitscompliance and enforcement tools the AER can use when companies do not comply with the rules.
For more information on the AER’s investigation enforcement processes, please see the Investigations webpage on aer.ca.
About the Alberta Energy Regulator
The AER ensures the safe, efficient, orderly, and environmentally responsible development of energy resources in Alberta through our regulatory activities.
Contact
Email: email hidden; JavaScript is required | Media line: 1-855-474-6356
Emma Graney@EmmaLGraney:
Fort Chipewyan Chief Adam is furious at Imperial’s 50k fine over the Kearl leak. “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 gvt doesn’t care about us”
GreeceBall@_GreeceBall:
How many people would break every law imaginable if the fine was $1
Hunting without a permit? $1
Dumping garbage on the street? $1
Driving without insurance? $1
It would be chaos, but we allow these companies to operate without punishment
Imperial Oil fined $50,000 over oil sands leak by Emma Graney, Aug 23, 2024, The Globe and Mail
Imperial Oil Ltd. IMO-T has been fined $50,000 by the Alberta Energy Regulator over a continuing leak leak or spill, intentional dump of toxic waste to set the company up to avoid all future clean upof water tainted with arsenic, dissolved metals and hydrocarbons from tailings ponds at its Kearl oil sands facility.
The fine is an administrative penalty only, levied Thursday under the province’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. It’s the maximum amount allowed under regulations, but the AER said it is still investigating other potential contraventions at Kearl. The regulator is also investigating a separate incident in February, 2023, when a drainage storagetoxic waste lake pond at Kearl overflowed, spillingintentionally dumped more likelyan estimated 5.3 million litres of industrial waste water laced with pollutants from the surface of the site into the environment.
The federal Environment Department is also investigating the leak.I doubt they have cahones any bigger or more effective than AER’s twiddly cowardly bits.
Tailings-tainted water has been seepingbeing intentionally dumped more likely from Kearl into muskeg, public lands and waterways that are home to wildlife and fish since May, 2022. But it wasn’t until February, 2023, that the oil company told any communities close to the site, including the Fort Chipewyan First Nation, whose members exercise their treaty rights to hunt and fish in the area.
Allan Adam, the Chief of Fort Chipewyan First Nation, is furious about the size of the fine levied against Imperial.
“The CEO makes that in half a day, so it’s a slap on the wrist in regard to our community and our concerns,” he said in an interview Thursday.
The AER is an arms-lengthWTF Emma!? AER is the energy industry’s self regulator. It’s 100% funded, led and controlled by industry, so far, mostly led by Encana/Ovintiv VPs regulator, but Mr. Adam laid the blame with the province, saying the fine is indicative of the callous disregard that the Alberta government has shown for his community.
“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.”Of course they don’t. That’s been obvious for many decades.
Aliénor Rougeot, the climate and energy program manager with Environmental Defence, an advocacy organization, said a $50,000 fine was nowhere near the response required for “an egregious violation” by Imperial Oil.
“The AER should have prosecuted Imperial Oil and imposed a sizable fine if it wanted to deter the company and all other oil sands companies from repeating this kind of irresponsible behaviour,” she said in an e-mail.
Along with the monetary fine, the AER has ordered that the Calgary-based oil company undertake studies and develop plansdeveloping plans in AER’s sweet escape for industry to diddle around doing nothing effective, having planning meeting after planning meeting intentionally never getting past planning to plan maybe to plan, some day … to improve transparency and response strategies.
Imperial must share lessons it has learned from the continuing problem with other oil sands operators, for example, and develop and implement a plan to mitigate tailings seepage and make sure monitoring processes are good enough.Notice there’s nothing ordered by AER for the company to FIX their ongoing toxic waste dumping/seeping/leaking/spilling (take your pick what you want to call it)
The company must also undertake an industrial wastewater-release research project to further study the potential impact of such releases on fish, aquatic ecosystems, soil, vegetation, wildlife and public safety.
Both projects require the publication of final reports on Imperial’s website and must be verified by qualified independent third parties to ensure “that the results are credible and reliable.”
Imperial said in an e-mail Thursday that it fully supports the projects ordered by the AERthe criminal company supports the projects because I bet the company dictated to AER the order and made sure they would not be ordered to actually FIX the problem and toxic mess the company is greedily causingand would work collaboratively with local Indigenous communities.
The company is still working to contain the leak. It has installed pumps and more than 800 environmental monitoring wells to help limit further migration of industrial waste water into the environment, according to an August update on its website.I do not trust a word Imperial says or writes, nor do I trust AER
With the help of a third party, it has also mapped locations of potential seepage north of the Kearl site.
The furthest Imperial has detected shallow groundwater containing substances that exceed government guidelines for contaminated sites is 150 metres from the Kearl boundary. But it has found deeper contaminated groundwater (more than 12 metres below surface) approximately one kilometre from the site – around two kilometres away from the Firebag River.That’s mighty bad. Why isn’t AER ordering Imperial’s Kearl operations shut down until all leaks/spills/seepages/intentional dumps are not only stopped completely, but also cleaned up. Oh right, AER is industry’s puppy, sweet little lap dog self regulator. They’ll never make a criminal company like Imperial or Encana/Ovintiv do the right thing. Evil earth, community and health fuckers
Imperial said that monitoring data have found no indication of adverse effects to local wildlife or fish populations in nearby river systems, and no risks to drinking water for local communities.Well, I for one, do not believe that for half a second. I expect the harms have been dreadful, and quickly hidden, and the risks to drinking water significant and cumulative.
“We are confident the actions we have taken to address the issue and the extensive measures we have put in place to refine and strengthen our seepage monitoring and collection systems are working. Evasive jargon, meaningless trash talk. We continue to monitor and provide regular updates and data to local Indigenous communities, and we remain committedwhich in reality means they do not give a fuckto working to regain their trust,” the company said in a statement.
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