Geoscience of Climate and Energy 11. Ambient Air Quality and Linkage to Ecosystems in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta

In 2010, there were 91 active oil sands projects in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta where the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association monitors air quality and related environmental impacts. In 2012, ambient air concentrations of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ammonia did not exceed the Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives. There was one exceedance of   these objectives for ground-level ozone, and 62 exceedances for fine particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 microns. There were 170 exceedances of the 1-hour hydrogen sulphide / total reduced sulphur odour threshold. The number of hourly exceedances has decreased since 2009, yet odours remain a serious concern in some communities. Based on the Air Quality Health Index (ozone, nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter), the risk from ambient air quality to human health from some pollutants was calculated to be low 96% to 98% of the time depending upon monitoring location, moderate 1% to 3.4%, high ≤ 0.4%, and very high ≤ 0.2% of the year. In a highly regulated setting like the Alberta oil sands, it is critical for stakeholders to quantify the spatial influences of emission source types to explain  any consequential environmental effects. Source apportionment studies successfully matched source chemical fingerprints with those measured in terrestrial lichens throughout the region. Forensic receptor modeling showed source types contributing to elemental concentrations in the lichens included combustion processes (~23%), tailing sand (~19%), haul roads and limestone (~15%), oil sand and processed materials (~15%), and a general anthropogenic urban source (~15%). Re-suspended fugitive dust from operations, tailings dikes, quarrying, on-road transportation, and land clearing was found to contribute enrichment to a much greater degree than the hitherto assumed combustion source type.SOMMAIREEn 2010, il y avait 91 projets d’extraction en cours dans les sables bitumineux de l’Athabasca en Alberta, soit dans le secteur où la Wood Buffalo Environmental Association mesure la qualité de l'air et les répercussions sur les milieux de vie.  En 2012, les concentrations dans l'air ambiant de dioxyde de soufre, le dioxyde d'azote et d'ammoniac n’ont pas dépassé les niveaux fixés par l’Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives.  Il y a eu 1 dépassement de ces objectifs pour la concentration de l'ozone au niveau du sol, et 62 dépassements pour la concentration des particules fines d'un diamètre aérodynamique ≤ 2,5 micromètres.  Il y a eu 170 dépassements pour la concentration du sulfure d’hydrogène pendant 1 heure / du seuil de l’odeur total de soufre réduit.  Le nombre des dépassements horaires a diminué depuis 2009, mais les odeurs demeurent un grave problème dans certaines communautés.  En fonction de la Cote air santé (ozone, dioxyde d'azote, particules fines), le risque de la qualité de l'air ambiant pour la santé humaine de certains polluants a été qualifiée de faible pour 96 % à 98 % des cas selon lieu de la mesure, de modérée dans 1 % à 3,4 %, plus élevé dans ≤ 0,4% des cas, et de très élevé dans ≤ 0,2% de l’année.  Dans un cadre très réglementé comme celui des sables bitumineux de l'Alberta, il est essentiel pour les parties prenantes de quantifier spatialement les répercussions des divers types de sources d'émissions dans le but d’expliquer les conséquences sur les milieux de vie.  Les études d’attribution des sources ont très bien recoupé celles des empreintes chimiques des sources mesurées dans les lichens terrestres dans toute la région.  La modélisation par récepteurs forensiques a montré que les types de sources qui contribuent aux concentrations élémentaires dans les lichens proviennent des procédés de combustion (~ 23%), des sables résiduels (~ 19%), des routes de transport et du calcaire (~ 15%), des sables bitumineux et des matériaux transformés (~ 15%) et d’une source urbaine anthropique générale (~ 15%).  On a établi que les poussières diffuses remises en suspension provenant de l'exploitation, les digues de résidus, les carrières, le transport routier et le défrichement contribuent à l’augmentation de la concentration à un degré beaucoup plus élevé que la combustion, qu’on ne l’avait estimé jusqu’à présent.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12789/geocanj.2013.40.01

THE VALUE-ADDED OF ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING FOR CUMULATIVE EFFECTS MANAGEMENT AND DECISION-MAKING IN THE LOWER ATHABASCA PLANNING REGION OF ALBERTA, CANADA

There has emerged in recent years a general consensus that anthropogenic development, including energy resource extraction, agriculture, and urban expansion, pose significant threats to water security and the health of watersheds in Canada. A component of identifying and managing the cumulative effects (CE) of this development is data from short and long-term monitoring programs to support decisions about water use and development. However, attention to CE management is often short-lived, and is exacerbated by the fragmented nature of monitoring data and programs. It is therefore important to understand unsuccessful CE efforts of the past to help determine features of future CE monitoring. In addition, it is often argued that CE management is ineffective due to challenges associated with institutional and organizational arrangements for mobilizing CE monitoring with decision-making. This thesis explores whether and how current environmental monitoring programs and organizations support CE management for land-use decision-making. The research is conducted in the Lower Athabasca planning region of Alberta, Canada, where a variety of industrial activities, a CE approach to decision-making, and a variety of monitoring efforts are ongoing. First, this thesis presents a review of the past and present monitoring programs, identifying reoccurring themes in the failure of monitoring programs, and deriving lessons for other jurisdictions. It then explores the task of integrating environmental monitoring with CE management and decision-making based on semi-structured interviews with CE monitoring professionals, to understand perspectives on the current state-of-practice while considering other options. Results show that three approaches exist for this integration: a distributed monitoring system, a one-window system, and an independent exploratory system. Each system has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the decision to implement any one system depends on the purpose of existing monitoring; the credibility and depth of understanding of region-specific scientific underpinnings; and the needs of CE decision-making. Instead of being susceptible to shorter-term institutional change, monitoring expectations should be guided by the immediate and longer-term needs of decision-making, and supported, implemented, and maintained by credible science. Monitoring to advance CE practice should therefore be the ongoing product of cohesive CE visioning, with oversight from independent scientific efforts

Geoscience of Climate and Energy 12. Water Quality Issues in the Oil Sands Region of the Lower Athabasca River, Alberta

I summarize the controversies about industrial pollutants in freshwaters near the oil sands industrial area of Alberta, the inadequacies in environmental monitoring that have led to widespread misconceptions, and recent attempts to correct the problems.  Adequate data are available to show that mercury, other trace metals, and polycyclic aromatic compounds are being added by industry to the Athabasca river system and its watershed, although the relative contributions of industrial development and natural sources remain in question.  Recent improvements in water monitoring by Environment Canada show promise of resolving the controversies, although independent governance for Canada’s and Alberta’s water monitoring programs in the lower Athabasca River will be necessary to rebuild public confidence in the data and their interpretation by government and industry.  I document one success story in the Athabasca River: the elimination of dioxins from pulp mills in the mid-1990s has caused a consumption advisory for fish in the river to be repealed.SOMMAIREJe présente ci-dessous un résumé des controverses concernant les polluants industriels dans les eaux douces à proximité de la zone industrielle des sables bitumineux de l'Alberta, des lacunes dans la surveillance des milieux de vie à l’origine d’idées fausses répandues, et de récentes tentatives visant à corriger les problèmes.  Des données adéquates démontrent que l’industrie ajoute du mercure et d'autres métaux traces ainsi que des composés aromatiques polycycliques dans le système fluvial de la rivière Athabasca et dans son bassin versant, bien que les contributions relatives provenant de ces activités industrielles et de sources naturelles demeurent toujours en litige.  De récentes améliorations apportées au contrôle des eaux par Environnement Canada permettent d’espérer une résolution des controverses, mais l’application d’une gouvernance indépendante des programmes de contrôle de l'eau de l'Alberta du Canada dans la partie inférieure du fleuve Athabasca sera nécessaire pour rétablir la confiance de la population à l’égard des données présentées et de leur interprétation par le gouvernement et l'industrie.  Je décrie l’histoire d’une intervention réussie dans la rivière Athabasca, soit l'élimination de dioxines provenant des usines de pâte du milieu des années 1990 et qui a abouti à l’abrogation d’un avis de limitation de la consommation de poisson dans la rivière.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12789/geocanj.2013.40.01

Large-Scale Energy Projects: Assessment of Regional Consequences

A major component of this study is a review of models and inference structures used in analysis of energy project impacts (economic, institutional, and environmental) -- the supporting databases, and the uses of such information in pertinent policy analysis. In this effort, the study emphasized the regional dimension of impact analysis. Second, in order to capture the rich and complex pattern of energy initiatives, their multidimensional impacts, and methods of assessment of such impacts, five case studies of large-scale energy projects in four countries were commissioned. Large-scale adjustments in energy supply and demand, and in economic and environmental systems are inherently surrounded by technological and political uncertainties. Further, these countries -- Canada, the USA, Sweden, and the USSR -- vary considerably in the objective conditions of energy supply and demand, in their policy formulation and decision frameworks, and in their policy implementation settings. The case studies were consequently intended to elucidate, in these diverse decision-making and implementation contexts, the antecedents and development of the energy investments: how energy crises were perceived; how they were transformed into public policy issues by the various national and regional interest groups; how the scope of energy impact assessment studies were defined; what methods and databases were used in impact analysis; and how these technical study results interfaced with policy-making groups or influenced the energy investment outcomes. The overall study attempted to integrate these two prongs of analysis -- the comparative study of impact assessment models and management methods and the rich, complex delineation of energy development case studies -- into a broad understanding of the process of policy formulation and decision making on large energy initiatives. This book attempts to capture the salient features of the process of assessment and decision making on large-scale energy initiatives, from initial specifications of the energy problem, through impact assessments, to the final stage of using such studies in policy decisions

Petroleum hydrocarbon content, leaching and degradation from surficial bitumens in the Athabasca oil sands region

Mine reclamation has become a topic of considerable research in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region of Northeastern Alberta, Canada. In this area some of the largest open pit mines in the world extract bitumen, a type of heavy oil, from the oil bearing McMurray Formation. At the close of mine operations, lease holders are required to return the land to equivalent capability. To achieve this, several existing waste piles will need to be capped and a functioning ecosystem re-established. Proposed borrow pits for capping material were recently found to contain reworked bitumen materials of various shapes and sizes. This reworked bitumen has been named tarballs by local industry. The use of that name is maintained throughout this study. The tarball accumulations are very abundant in some areas but also occur infrequently in apparently clean areas. In this study, the petroleum hydrocarbon signature and leaching characteristics of the tarballs were determined. The hydrocarbon content and composition of the tarballs were assessed using the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) methods. The data were presented in terms of the four CCME fractions. Leaching characteristics were determined using a custom designed, unsaturated soil column experiment carried out at the University of Saskatchewan. The soil column was monitored for petroleum hydrocarbons, total carbon and total organic carbon in leachate water and soil respiration as a surrogate for biodegradation. The bitumen was found to consist primarily of heavy hydrocarbons, CCME Fractions 3 and 4, at levels of thousands and tens of thousands of mg/kg respectively. Gravimetric analyses indicated that a significant proportion of the tarball materials are very heavy hydrocarbons beyond the range of high temperature gas chromatography. These very heavy hydrocarbons are greater than carbon number C90. Lighter and more mobile hydrocarbons were occasionally identified at the core of larger accumulations. Where identified, the lighter fractions were typically accompanied by F3 and F4 hydrocarbons at one to two orders of magnitude greater than typical tarball material. Leachate was found to contain F2 hydrocarbons at less than 0.2 mg/L, a small fraction of the CCME clean water guideline of 1.1 mg/L. F3 hydrocarbons were identified at levels up to 0.6 mg/L. Soil respiration indicated a very low activity system, suggesting limited potential for biodegradation. Tarball materials are concluded to be of little concern for potential impacts to groundwater based upon the hydrocarbon fingerprint and the observed leaching characteristics of the tarball materials

Interface between Alberta's environmental policies and the environmental management of three Albertan oil sends companies

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2009.Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-198).The Athabasca Oil Sands, located in northeastern Alberta, Canada, were for many years anomalous. Two oil sands operators developed their extraction techniques for 30 years, refining their technology before production became economically profitable. In the last 15 years as oil prices climbed, a tremendous amount of growth has occurred in the oil sands. Dozens of new projects are under construction or awaiting approval, creating one of the largest and most capital intensive mining operations in the world. Curiously there is a significant difference in environmental performance among three companies involved in open pit mining of the oil sands, Syncrude, Suncor Energy and Shell Canada's Muskeg River Mine. Suncor Energy is known for their reputation in stakeholder collaboration and reporting initiatives but has one of the most problematic environmental legacies. Meanwhile, Syncrude is seen as a relative leader in land reclamation but has taken the least action with regard to climate change. Shell Canada's Muskeg River Mine, draws from the resources of their parent company, Royal Dutch Shell, to proactively frame climate change management but has no public indicators of their land reclamation progress. What is the cause of this variation in environmental performance? Is it a result of difference corporate environmental governance strategies or of government policies? I suggest the variation of environmental performance is an organic response to the innate discretionary nature of environmental policymaking in Alberta, the lack of government leadership and the degree of initiative demonstrated by each company.(cont.) From my research it is clear that the inconsistent and at times vague government policy and regulations, opaque government agencies, poor monitoring and enforcement, inadequate incentives and penalties does not effectively encourage stronger environmental performance among oil sands developers. At the same time, internal corporate strategy, often in response to the recent pressure from environmental groups, First Nations communities and international media compels some companies to innovate and others to simply follow the regulations. Maintaining their social license, reducing costs, and anticipating future regulations have all been cited as motivation for innovation. Those advocating the status quo cite the exemplary regulatory framework already in place and the adequacy of existing stakeholder engagement processes; whereas corporate environmental leaders are frustrated by the uncertainty around environmental policies created by the provincial government. Ultimately the responsibility for the environmental management of the oil sands lies with the province. Companies can strive to innovate and compete with other developers, but they are not accountable for the management of cumulative effects in the region. If Alberta is going to improve the environmental performance of oil sands developers then a more transparent, credible and strategic environmental planning process must be created.(cont.) I conclude with three areas of policy improvements the Province can make to not only improve the environmental performance of the oil sands but also regain public trust in their role as manager of Alberta's natural resources: transparency, monitoring and enforcement, and responsible leadership.by Nathan C. Lemphers.M.C.P

IT\u27S NOT RAINBOWS AND UNICORNS : REGULATED COMMODITY AND WASTE PRODUCTION IN THE ALBERTA OILSANDS

This dissertation examines the regulated oilsands mining industry of Alberta, Canada, widely considered the world’s largest surface mining project. The industrial processes of oilsands mining produce well over one million barrels of petroleum commodities daily, plus even larger quantities of airborne and semisolid waste. The project argues for a critical account of production concretized in the co-constitutional relations of obdurate materiality and labor activity within a framework of regulated petro-capitalism. This pursuit requires multiple methods that combine archives, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews to understand workers’ shift-to-shift relations inside the “black box” of regulated oilsands mining production where materiality co-constitutes the processes and outcomes of resource development and waste-intensive production. Here, the central contradiction pits the industry’s colossal environmental impact and its regulated environmental relations, which – despite chronic exceedances – are held under some control by provincial and federal environmental agents, further attenuated by firms’ selective voluntary compliance with global quality standards as well as whistleblowers and otherwise “troublesome” employees. ‘It’s not rainbows and unicorns,’ explains one informant, distilling workers’ views of the safety and environmental hazards they simultaneously produce and endure as wage laborers despite pervasive regulation. In addition to buttressing geographical conceptualizations of socionatural resource production, contributions arise in the sympathetic engagement with workers, which may hold useful insights for activism against the industry’s environmental outcomes

Hydroelectric power, mercury, energetics, and stress: Biological and toxicological implications for fish and fisheries

Hydroelectric power is a critical component of the global energy budget and its capacity is projected to increase by 73% over the next 20 years, with much of this new capacity installed in the developing world. It is therefore important that we understand the impacts of these developments and how they might affect human and ecological health. Mercury accumulation in fish in reservoirs after dam construction is a well-researched and established phenomenon. While increased mercury concentrations have also been observed in fish downstream of dams , less is known about the dynamics of mercury in downstream sites, meaning there is unassessed historical risk to downstream wildlife, fisheries, and consumers. Further, hydropeaking that leads to fish strandings may represent a contemporary environmental stressor to downstream fishes. This could exacerbate mercury exposure in downstream fish by reallocating their energy from growth to addressing the stressor, resulting in higher mercury concentrations due to decreased growth dilution. This thesis explores the potential relationships between mercury and energy stores in fish up and downstream of a hydroelectric dam to determine historical relationships of fish mercury between these locations, and whether ongoing dam operations may exacerbate mercury concentrations in downstream fish. It also introduces a novel stress challenge protocol using a common minnow species in order to assess potential chronic environmental stress. Using historical records of commercial fishes from a reservoir and downstream fishery, I found rates of mercury decline were similar in fish populations within both sites since the 1970s. Yet where differences were noted, mercury consistently took longer to decline from downstream populations; mercury concentrations were also greater in fish immediately downstream of the dam relative to those from farther downstream despite minimal mercury concentrations (1-5 ng/L) in the water column. Higher mercury concentrations were also found downstream of the dam in a common minnow species (spottail shiner; “shiner”: Notropis hudsonius), and the same populations showed reduced energy stores relative to upstream fish in both August and September of 2014. Despite this connection, I noted minimal effects on fish condition, and there were no direct predictive relationships between fish mercury concentrations, energy stores, and condition. A newly developed acute stress challenge protocol also provided mixed evidence for the effects of hydropeaking on shiner stress responses. Glycogen concentrations were slightly higher iii in downstream fish from a site of concern in October compared with September, though minimal differences were found across time points, months or sites. Where patterns were observed, concentrations were highest within the first five minutes of capture and ultimately reached basal levels after 15 minutes. Minimal differences were noted in triglyceride concentrations across site, month, or time point. Cortisol secretion was successfully induced by the stress challenge as measured by whole-body cortisol concentrations, and the two upstream sites showed nearly identical patterns of cortisol concentration increase over time across months, with concentrations peaking ≈45-minutes post-challenge at both sites in both months. Minimal differences were noted across time points and sites within months, though cortisol concentrations in fish at a downstream site of concern were slightly elevated compared to upstream sites in September, and dropped significantly from September to October of 2015. While it is not possible to draw definitive conclusions about hydropeaking as a stressor based solely on these data, these results suggest that mercury concentrations may take longer to decline in fish populations downstream of dams, and that ongoing dam activities may be imparting direct or indirect effects on downstream fish that exacerbate long-term mercury concentrations. Finally, these results suggest that cortisol concentrations in shiner in response to an acute stressor may be successfully developed as a biomarker of chronic environmental stress

Analysis of Metal Contaminants and Mercury Speciation in Fishes from the Slave and Athabasca Rivers

The Slave and Athabasca are two connected rivers impacted by a variety of anthropogenic activities such as oil sands extraction, metal mining, pulp mills and agriculture. Concerns have been raised regarding the health of these two rivers especially the Athabasca River which runs through areas of oil sands development. The health of fish in these rivers is one of the primary concerns due to the cultural and economic importance of the fish to local community members. Metal contaminants in fish can have an impact on fish health and can pose a risk to the health of consumers of fish, including humans. This thesis investigates metals in five fish species (burbot, goldeye, northern pike, walleye, and whitefish) from sites along the Slave and Athabasca Rivers during four seasons (summer, fall, winter, and spring). A suite of 25 metals were analyzed by ICP-MS and the majority of the metal concentrations showed little location associated variability nor were they detected at concentrations of concern. One metal, Hg, was detected at concentrations of concern and four metals (As, Se, Tl, and V) demonstrated statistically significant variations in concentrations between sampling sites with greater concentrations in the sites on the lower Slave River compared to the upper Slave River, Athabasca River, and Peace River sites. The concentrations of these metals were not of sufficient magnitude to be of concern to fish or human health, but the trend is of interest due to concerns regarding industrial activities on the Athabasca River. Mean Hg concentrations in fish muscle exceed Health Canada consumption guidelines in 2.6% of fish groups separated by species, location, and season. These concentrations exceeded subsistence advisory Hg guideline concentrations in 47.4% of fish groups. The magnitude of Hg concentrations was not new information as other researchers have found similar concentrations in fish in the region and fish consumption advisories are already in place for the Athabasca River due to Hg concerns. The two species of Hg found in fish are Hg(II) and methylmercury. Methylmercury is the predominant form of Hg in fish and has the potential to biomagnify, increasing concern for fish and human health. A method to analyze for the two Hg species was developed utilizing sodium tetraethylborate derivatization with headspace solid-phased microextraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography and orbitrap mass spectrometry (GC-Orbitrap MS) analysis. The use of GC-Orbitrap MS allows for the scanning of a wide range of mass/charge (m/z) at high resolution (>200,000). This resolution and scan range were utilized to quantify each Hg species and Hg isotopes. The percent of total Hg represented by methylmercury in a subsample of the fish collected from the Slave and Athabasca Rivers were found to be 82.4% for goldeye, 90.2% in northern pike, 87.2% in walleye, 92.3% in whitefish, and 87.5% in burbot. Isotope patterns of Hg were also determined for these samples though the method was not sensitive enough to detect subtle differences in stable isotope patterns. Mercury concentrations are nearing, and in certain circumstances exceeding, Canadian guidelines. Overall, metal concentrations, with the exception of Hg, in the Slave and Athabasca Rivers do not appear to be at levels of concern for fish or human health at this time. The trend of four metals being greater in the lower Slave River provides an interesting opportunity for further research into metal chemodynamics