MAY: Oil sands: the difficult poster child for Canada's
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 8:56 amMAY: Oil sands: the difficult poster child for Canada's environmental record
[ http://elizabethmaymp.ca/?p=10438 ]
The Hill Times July 30, 2013
The Government of Canada will clearly spare no expense in extolling the environmental virtues of oil sands bitumen. We spend millions in promotion, domestic advertizing for our “Responsible Resource Management” and promotion around the world. We lobby in Washington DC and pound the pavements of European capitals, all in aid of defending our wondrous product from those who would malign its benefits.
Unfortunately, as a poster child for environmental values, the oil sands keep giving their backers headaches. Dilbit (bitumen and diluents mixture) leaks have contaminated the Kalamazoo River in Michigan and fouled rural Arkansas. Pipeline leaks in Alberta have forced farmers from their homes, while the waste water in tailings ponds has leaked toxic chemicals into the Athabasca River.
Masterful public relations turned that around with the commitment to a “Gold Standard” environmental monitoring programme, but the failure to prosecute years worth of reported offences undermines the commitment. A recent report, based on years of painstaking collection of data through access to information requests, reveals that fewer than 1 % of environmental violations in the oil sands are subject to any prosecution. (Canadian Press, “Study finds little environmental enforcement in oilsands infractions,” July 23, 2013)
[ http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/S ... story.html ]
As I write this, there is an uncontrollable blow-out in an underground oil sands operation in Alberta. According to the story in July 19th Toronto Star, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd is dealing with four separate leaks of burbling bitumen and injection water spreading on the ground on the Cold Lake Air Base lands. The “blow out” is from what is called the in situ method of getting bitumen out of the ground.
Up until recently, oil sands mining was primarily conducted by an open pit method. Enormous gaping holes, up to 80 metres deep, were the work places of super-sized trucks and giant hoes to scrape tons of soil and rock, bring it to the surface and process it. With warm water and shaking (a Suncor scientist once described it to me as being like a washing machine), the 10% by volume of bitumen was separated from the rest of the material. In situ is different. Injection wells shoot the water down to where the bitumen is found and the force of water sends the bitumen up through well shafts to the surface. While in situ has the value of not creating visual scarring to the landscape, it actually uses more water than the open pit method, and it uses more energy.
[Read rest of article...]
[ http://elizabethmaymp.ca/?p=10438 ]
The Hill Times July 30, 2013
The Government of Canada will clearly spare no expense in extolling the environmental virtues of oil sands bitumen. We spend millions in promotion, domestic advertizing for our “Responsible Resource Management” and promotion around the world. We lobby in Washington DC and pound the pavements of European capitals, all in aid of defending our wondrous product from those who would malign its benefits.
Unfortunately, as a poster child for environmental values, the oil sands keep giving their backers headaches. Dilbit (bitumen and diluents mixture) leaks have contaminated the Kalamazoo River in Michigan and fouled rural Arkansas. Pipeline leaks in Alberta have forced farmers from their homes, while the waste water in tailings ponds has leaked toxic chemicals into the Athabasca River.
Masterful public relations turned that around with the commitment to a “Gold Standard” environmental monitoring programme, but the failure to prosecute years worth of reported offences undermines the commitment. A recent report, based on years of painstaking collection of data through access to information requests, reveals that fewer than 1 % of environmental violations in the oil sands are subject to any prosecution. (Canadian Press, “Study finds little environmental enforcement in oilsands infractions,” July 23, 2013)
[ http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/S ... story.html ]
As I write this, there is an uncontrollable blow-out in an underground oil sands operation in Alberta. According to the story in July 19th Toronto Star, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd is dealing with four separate leaks of burbling bitumen and injection water spreading on the ground on the Cold Lake Air Base lands. The “blow out” is from what is called the in situ method of getting bitumen out of the ground.
Up until recently, oil sands mining was primarily conducted by an open pit method. Enormous gaping holes, up to 80 metres deep, were the work places of super-sized trucks and giant hoes to scrape tons of soil and rock, bring it to the surface and process it. With warm water and shaking (a Suncor scientist once described it to me as being like a washing machine), the 10% by volume of bitumen was separated from the rest of the material. In situ is different. Injection wells shoot the water down to where the bitumen is found and the force of water sends the bitumen up through well shafts to the surface. While in situ has the value of not creating visual scarring to the landscape, it actually uses more water than the open pit method, and it uses more energy.
[Read rest of article...]