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(The Realities of….)Current Environmental Assessment
for E&P Projects in the North
Far North Oil and Gas ConferenceCalgary, AlbertaOctober 1, 2002
Northern Gas to Southern Markets
The Ten LessonsIntroduction
What is at stake?
• A Northern Frontier
• A Sacred Homeland
• A Wellspring of Aboriginal Culture
Introduction
What are the rewards?
• Improved infrastructure (roads, airports, facilities)
• Improved services (education, health, social)
• Billions of dollars of resource revenue and profits
• Economic growth and diversification
Introduction
ARE WE ALL TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING?
At a Calgary conference in 2001, deliberations on
the ‘where’ and ‘how’ of petroleum exploration and
production in the north and potential changes to a
place that is not home, but from which fortunes
could be made. At a similar Fort Simpson
conference and gathering, people talking about
whether to allow changes to their homeland to
take place, and whether making a fortune is a
good thing.
Sunny Munroe, Editor – FNOGR (Spring 2002)
Introduction
I COULD TALK ABOUT………
• Traditional environmental assessment practice
• Generally well understood and manageable
• Unique aspects for northern projects
• Aspects where particular uncertainties remain
Presentation Outline
I’D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT……….
• Incorporating Climate Change into
Environmental Assessment
• Socio-economic, Political and
Cultural challenges
• Harmonization of the Approval Processes
• Meaningful Local and Community Participation
• Comprehensive Integration of Approval Application
• Data Management for Public Accessibility
Incorporating Climate Change into EA
• Complex nature of interactions
– historic and current knowledge,
predictions, and hypotheses
• A review of EA’s since 1988
(IPCC) – few address CC adequately
• Inconsistent approach to incorporating CC
• Uncertainty is rarely dealt with
• Next phase – alternate approaches
After Bower and Murphy 2002
The Ten LessonsIncorporating Climate Change into EA
After Lee 2002
• Distinguishing between
historical and observational data
• Lack of precision and certainty
in data and predictions
• Differences between GCM and project
needs – CC is larger than individual projects
• Lack of policy or guideline to incorporate CC
• Lack of private sector capacity – knowledge
transfer from research and academia
The Ten Lessons
Socio-economic, Politicaland Cultural Realities
• Capacity building – northern skills
– local education facilities
• Inadequacy of heath care systems
and facilities
• Increasing infrastructure needs (airports,
roads, municipal facilities)
• Increased domestic violence, drug and
alcohol abuse, and crime
• Labour – skilled and non-skilled – new skills
and traditional skills
The Ten Lessons
Socio-economic, Politicaland Cultural Realities
• Social family and community disruptions
• Modern value systems
vs. traditional principles
that are spiritually based
• The political reality –
19 members – 11 official
languages – no political parties
• Devolution – the process has begun –
Ottawa, GNWT and the Aboriginal Summit
• Political self government can facilitate
economic self-sufficiency
The Ten LessonsApproval Process Harmonization
• More a question of governance vs. the
development plan?
• Evolution of authority from and to local and
aboriginal governments
• Legislative tools include CEAA, IFA, MVEIRB,
NEB and many others
• Necessity will compel all the interests of
government and regulators to work together
• Substantial effort put into a Cooperation Plan
The Ten LessonsApproval Process Harmonization
“A coordinated effort amongst key regulatory bodies
is critical if the Northwest Territories is called on to
address a natural gas pipeline application in the near
future………I am pleased that the Cooperation Plan is
now complete, and wish to acknowledge the
significant effort that went into this plan and
encourage the chairs to continue their work in
implementing the plan.”
Minister Nault, June 2002 at YK presentation of Final
Cooperation Plan
The Ten LessonsApproval Process Harmonization
• Talks are underway to develop
agreements to give effect to the plan
• Inuvialuit and the Federal Minister
of Environment
• MVEIRB, Inuvialuit and the Federal
Minister of Environment
• Regulatory agencies with public hearing and
permitting functions
• Add specific details to the framework
• Roles and responsibilities of the agencies
The Ten LessonsApproval Process Harmonization
• Preparation of Consolidated Information
Requirements, and Plan for Public Involvement
• Anticipated additional releases of series of announcements regarding commitments made in the Preparation Phase in the next week or so.
• Consolidated information requirements available on the web atwww.neb-one.gc.ca
The Ten Lessons
Meaningful Participation ofLocal People and their Communities
• Berger reported that this was not a debate
about a pipeline and development – but a
debate about the future of the people
• 10 years to settle land claims and introduce
the processes and institutions to address
development
• 25 years later – many land claims are settled –
not all – many processes and institutions
• Now a question of connection or disconnection
of governance and development plans
The Ten Lessons
Meaningful Participation ofLocal People and their Communities
• Not everyone is on board - unsettled land
claims
• A concern for the potential for uncontrolled
development, erosion of traditional
economy, and loss of traditional ways of life
• Development of this must acknowledge the
human scale of the
needs of northerners
• Settlement and claims
address these issues
• Impacts and Benefits Agreements (IBA)
The Ten Lessons• How development will
proceed, provide a financial
stake, influence who gets the
work
• Local community partnerships
with
experienced corporations
• Full partnerships – equity
participation
Meaningful Participation ofLocal People and their Communities
• Aboriginal Pipeline Group (APG) – a first –
representing 30 NWT Aboriginal groups
The Ten Lessons• Complex, innovative, and
forward thinking strategies
for involvement
• Big investment – with
potential for big returns
• Calculated & acceptable
risks – business decisions
• Partnerships not driven solely by financial
aspects – education, training, employment,
direct and indirect business opportunity
Meaningful Participation ofLocal People and their Communities
The Ten Lessons
Comprehensive Integrationof Application for Approval
• standardization of Terms of Reference (TofR)
• Many different disciplines – engineering,
socio-economic, environmental – crossover
and woven together
• Bringing together the scope and boundaries of
the assessment process
• Cross-discipline integration – biodiversity,
cumulative effects, socio-economic, human
health
• Cross-referencing regulatory requirements
The Ten Lessons
Data Managementfor Public Accessibility
• Data sets collected by different groups
• Filings by different proponents
• Filings for different development phases
• Technological advances in data retrieval,
integration, management, and dissemination
• Public data registries
The Ten Lessons
SummaryEA for EP Projects in the North
• Established traditional EA standards,
processes, expectations
• Uncertainty
for less
traditional
aspects of
EA
• It can be done – it can be done right
Premier Kakfwi September 2002
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