Decision 2004-09
https://had.aer.ca/link/decision3801
- Applicant
- Shell Canada Limited
- Application Number
- 1271285
- 1271307
- 1271383
- Title
- Decision 2004-9: Shell Canada Limited applications for an oil sands mine, bitumen extraction plant, cogeneration plant, and water pipeline in the Fort McMurray area (Joint panel report EUB and CEAA)
- Date
- 2004
- Title
- Decision 2004-9: Shell Canada Limited applications for an oil sands mine, bitumen extraction plant, cogeneration plant, and water pipeline in the Fort McMurray area (Joint panel report EUB and CEAA)
- Date
- 2004
- Applicant
- Shell Canada Limited
- Application Number
- 1271285
- 1271307
- 1271383
- Hearing Panel
- Dilay JD
- Kupfer G
- Houlihan RN
- Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
- Hearing Type
- Board
- Joint
- Utilities
- Category
- Bitumen production
- Descriptors
- Bitumen
- Cogeneration
- Extraction
- Fort McMurray area
- NTS 83H
- Oil sands project
- Water pipeline
- Legal References
- Hydro and Electric Energy Act S11
- Oil Sands Conservation Act S10
- Oil Sands Conservation Act S11
- Pipeline Act Part 4
- Interveners
- Oil Sands Environmental coalition
- Woynillowicz
- Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
- Fort McMurray Medical Staff Association
- Suave' M (MD)
- Sierra Club of Canada
- May E
- Mikisew Cree First Nations
- Waquan A (chief)
- Courtorielle W
- Courtorielle A
- Komers P (Dr.)
- Dickson E (Dr.)
- Byrne J (Dr.)
- Kienzle S (Dr.)
- Brownlee J
- Evans B
- McKay V
- Wood Buffalo First Nation
- Malcolm J
- Woodward R
- Castor W
- Castor G
- Grant J
- Canadian Natural Resources Limited
- Imperial Oil Resources
- ExxonMobil Canada
- Syncrude Canada Limited
- Suncor Energy Limited
- UTS Energy Corp.
- Government of Canada
- Department of Fisheries and Oceans
- Courtney R
- Majewski D
- Makowechi B
- Walker D
- Shamess J
- Thomson A
- Environment Canada
- Fairbairn M
- Bates-Frymel L
- Gregoire P
- Linderman D
- Brownlee B
- Coutts B
- Natural Resources Canada
- Wells L
- Health Canada
- Liu L
- Vuzi O
- Indian and NOrther Affairs Canada
- Maksymiec K
- Her Majest the Queen in Right of Alberta
- Alberta Environment
- Pretula B
- de la Chevrotiere C
- Boyd M
- Barrett R
- Rhude L
- Singh K
- Marriott P
- Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
- Chabaylo R
- Hale C
- McEachern P
- Alberta Health and Wellness
- MacKenzie A
- Bodo K (Dr.)
- Approval
- Approved with conditions
- Conditions
- Shell shall submit a lease boundary report five years prior to mining activities reaching any common lease boundary. The report must include a comprehensive description of the lease boundary geology and reserves, geotechnical conditions, alternative mining scenarios and impacts, and the costs associated with each, all in accordance with Section 3.1 of EUB Interim Directive (ID) 2001-7: Operating Criteria: Resource Recovery for Oil Sands Mines and Processing Sites (Section 6.2.2).
- Shell shall submit, for EUB approval, an access road and utility corridor update in its 2006 annual report. The report shall include a resource assessment of the oil sands located in the Sharkbite area and under the modified infrastructure corridor. It shall also include a comparison of alternative access road and utility corridor alignments with respect to resource recovery and other relevant criteria (Section 6.3.2).
- Shell shall submit, for EUB approval, a resource assessment of the plant site area two years prior to construction (Section 6.3.2).
- Shell shall submit, for EUB approval, detailed geotechnical design for all external overburden disposal areas at least six months prior to field preparation in those areas (Section 6.4.2).
- Shell shall submit, for EUB approval, a resource assessment of the three waste disposal areas and reclamation material stockpile two years prior to material placement (Section 6.4.2).
- Shell shall submit, for EUB approval, a ten-year mine plan and material balance by the earlier of 2008 or six months prior to pit development (Section 6.4.2).
- Shell must satisfy the EUB, two years prior to construction of either the Khahago surge facility or the tailings disposal area, that the design of the tailings disposal area, including the surge facility, provides for adequate capacity, stability, and minimization of resource sterilization and environmental impact (Section 6.7.2).
- Shell shall provide an annual report to the EUB on the status of the project and its development commencing on February 28, 2005, or such other date and frequency the EUB may stipulate (Section 6.8.2).
- Shell shall provide a report on progress in improving the bitumen extraction recovery in every second annual report to the EUB starting in 2008, or such other date and frequency the EUB may stipulate (Section 7.3).
- Shell shall continue to evaluate tailing solvent recovery unit (TSRU) thickeners technology and report results to the EUB in the 2006 annual report. The report must identify any opportunities to include TSRU thickeners in the project design and construction (Section 7.3).
- Shell shall report on its progress in dealing with separation characteristics of asphaltenes in the TSRU tailings in its annual report to the EUB commencing in 2005, or such other date and frequency the EUB may stipulate (Section 7.3).
- On or before February 28 of each year commencing in 2011, Shell shall provide to the EUB a summary of the previous year’s operation stating the amount of asphaltene rejected. The amount of asphaltenes rejection shall be limited to 10 mass per cent based on bitumen production (Section 7.3).
- On an annual average basis, Shell must limit site-wide solvent losses to not more than 4 volumes per 1000 volumes of bitumen production under all operating conditions. Shell shall not discharge untreated froth treatment tailings to the tailings disposal area (Section 7.3).
- Shell shall submit a report to the EUB prior to final design or June 30, 2006, whichever is earlier, on the feasibility of producing consolidated tailings (CT) on commencement of operation in order to reduce the accumulation of thickened tailings, thin fine tails, and mature fine tails (Section 8.2).
- Shell shall describe its progress on developing solid tailings technology in every second annual report to the EUB, commencing on February 28, 2005, or such other date and frequency the EUB may stipulate (Section 8.2).
- Shell shall submit to the EUB a report summarizing the engineering design and operating plans for the CT system two years prior to planned start-up, or such other date the EUB may stipulate (Section 8.2).
- Shell shall submit to the EUB on or before February 28 of every year commencing in 2011, or such other date or frequency the EUB may stipulate, a report summarizing the performance of the tailings management system during the preceding year, including Shell’s reasons for any deviations from design (Section 8.2).
- Shell shall provide a report, for EUB approval, detailing its mine plans near the Pleistocene Channel aquifer (PCA) five years prior to mining in this area to allow for the consideration of resource recovery issues and environmental impacts. The report shall include the proposed location of the pit limits and their proximity to the PCA, as well as a description of any mitigation that would be completed to minimize the impact of mining near the PCA (Section 13.1.6).
- Shell shall provide an annual report on regional development cooperation to the EUB starting in 2005. The report shall describe guiding principles and activities for cooperative development, opportunities and constraints of collaborative work among developers, specific time frames and implementation steps for all project phases to integrate them with other oil sands projects in the Muskeg River basin, and the means to evaluate outcomes (Section 18.4).