Coalition taking Imperial to court

Emboldened by growing pressure on the oil sands sector, a coalition of environmental groups has launched legal action to block approval of a C$7 billion project by Imperial Oil.

Led by the Sierra Club of Canada, the groups are taking their case to the Federal Court of Canada, arguing a joint federal-Alberta regulatory panel “failed to do its job” when it gave a green light earlier this year to the Kearl open-pit mining operation.

Imperial, which is 70 percent owned by Exxon Mobil Corp., plans an initial phase of 100,000 barrels per day and a possible 300,000 bpd by 2018.

The company is currently examining 17 environmental and technical conditions attached to the regulatory approval, while weighing costs and timelines before making a final corporate decision within a year.

“We think there is a very major problem with the environmental assessment process,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Stephen Hazell.

For the panel to conclude that a strip mine the size of 20,000 football fields, with toxic sludge-filled tailings ponds “visible from space” does not constitute an environmental threat “makes a mockery” of the process.

A spokesman for the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development noted that even the review panel said it was “deeply concerned” about the failure of governments to take measures to protect the environment.

“The joint panel has rubber-stamped another oil sands mega-project in the absence of clear answers about how to restore wetlands, rehabilitate toxic tailings ponds, protect migratory bird populations or address escalating greenhouse gas pollution,” he said.

The coalition said the regulatory approval was based on “phantom” mitigation measures that are undeveloped and unproven.

The Kearl case shapes up as a significant test of a building showdown between the oil sands sector and environmentalists, who have been pressing for more extensive reviews.

—Gary Park