(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

peter.jalkotzy@ieg.ca