Alberta suspends environmental reporting requirements
Alberta has suspended environmental reporting requirements for industry under emergency powers the province has enacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“All requirements to report information pursuant to provisions in approvals or registrations are suspended,” reads a ministerial order signed Tuesday by Environment Minister Jason Nixon.
Since Alberta’s regulatory system depends on self-reporting, the move effectively suspends environmental regulation in the province, said Shaun Fluker, a law professor at the University of Calgary.
“We don’t send officials out to ensure that terms and conditions are being complied with,” he said. “That (information) gap means arguably we’re not just halting reporting, we’re halting the operation of the regulatory system.
“We lose the ability to exercise compliance and enforcement measures.”
The suspension applies to three pieces of legislation at the heart of environmental protection in the province: the Water Act, the Public Lands Act and the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.
It does not apply to drinking-water facilities.
Department spokeswoman Jess Sinclair said the move was made to give hard-pressed energy companies a break.
“Many employers are dealing with reduced workforces due to the pandemic,” she said in an email. “Monitoring must still take place, but we are removing reporting deadlines to accommodate.”
Opposition New Democrat environment critic Marlin Schmidt called the move by Premier Jason Kenney’s United Conservative government “outrageous” and said he was baffled by it.
“Albertans deserve environmental protection at all times, especially during a pandemic.”