Maple Leafs: Environmental plea rejected

Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board and the Canadian government have turned down demands from an environmental coalition to reopen their approval of a C$13.7 billion expansion of a Royal Dutch Shell oil sands project.

The board said the request did not include sufficient evidence to warrant a new public hearing, while federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice said he did not have the statutory power to reconvene an assessment review panel.

The Oil Sands Environmental Coalition — including the Pembina Institute, the Toxics Watch Society of Alberta and the Fort McMurray Environmental Association — said Shell had broken a negotiated agreement to significantly cut the output of greenhouse gases from additions to its Muskeg River and Jackpine bitumen mines.

The group claimed Shell had scrapped a pledge to set specific targets for emissions cuts, saying it would wait for the Canadian government to produce its own emissions regulations.

Shell said it would work with stakeholders to strengthen carbon dioxide emissions standards, but needed the government to establish the rules rather than relying on voluntary commitments.

—Gary Park