Environmental Regulation: Its Impact on Major Oil and Gas Projects; Oil Sands and Arctic

Merritt Clifton was an environmental journalist and lived in Brigham, Quebec.

The trouble with this is that it’s only half the book it should be. Compiled by lawyers from legal documents, it succinctly summarizes the various tiers of legislation and regulation affecting current major oil and gas projects, but offers virtually nothing about practice and enforcement at the tundra grassroots. This legal backdrop should be accompanied by appropriate investigative journalism, as on-site, first-hand evidence of practice and enforcement is the only truly meaningful measure of any law’s actual effectiveness. In lieu of first-hand investigation, the authors relied upon answers gleaned from a questionnaire sent to representatives of government and industry, who often share vested interests.

Despite this critical weakness, Environmental Regulation does pinpoint the glaring hole in present law: the broad discretionary powers of the federal Environmental Assessment Review Process (EARP). Page 21 describes how the politically appointed EARP panels could, at least in theory, short-circuit the whole scrutinizing process by initially determining that a project will have no significant environmental impact. Page 37 shows that such a determination can’t be appealed. Pages 38 and 39 raise examples illustrating, albeit in different context, how conflict-of-interest could lead EARP to declare “no significant impact” despite contrary evidence. This volume doesn’t acknowledge any instance of this happening in Canada, but similar abuse has recently occurred under similar legislation in the United States. Certainly the procedures are vulnerable. Page 51 outlines failures of the regulatory process even after impact has been designated “significant,” as agencies with overlapping responsibilities fail to claim jurisdiction and regulatory panels fail to do proper investigation and are sometimes apparently biased in favor of the projects under review. Pages 106 and 107 demonstrate that neither the general public nor the oil and gas industry receives a fair shake under the present system, where public review comes only after projects are already fairly well underway, with companies having already invested heavily in procedures that may have to be changed. Finally, Environmental Regulation points out that at present the cost of such regulation can’t even be guessed at, since so much of the cost/benefit ratio is speculation, but that at least the cost of administration could be considerably reduced by involving the public much sooner, and corresponding less in late stages of a project.