Oil Sands Branch
Last review/updated: May 23, 2008
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Over the course of the last decade, Alberta has experienced unprecedented economic growth due to the rapid expansion of the oil sands industry. During this time, oil sands production quadrupled to reach more than one million barrels per day with continued growth anticipated to reach three million barrels per day by 2015. The oil sands boom has placed increasing pressures and strain on the province and in 2006, the Ministerial Strategy committee group report “Investing in our Future: Responding to the Rapid Growth of Oil Sands Development” (Radke Report) was commissioned to provide recommendations to better manage oil sands development.
The Radke Report made a number of recommendations to improve infrastructure, health care, and transportation in the oil sands areas. The report also looked into the environmental and resource management consequences of oil sands growth and found that Alberta Environment (AENV) and Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (ASRD) required more resources to meet the increasing pressures and demands. In the spring of 2007, the Government of Alberta responded, and both ASRD and AENV created new departmental sectors to meet the needs of oil sands environmental management.
The Oil Sands Branch of ASRD manages departmental participation in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and coordinated Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act approval processes in collaboration with other ministries. ASRD’s involvement in these processes focuses on public land and provincial resources such as fish and wildlife. The Oil Sands Branch also is engaged in cumulative effects and biodiversity planning projects for oil sands areas and oil sands monitoring and compliance initiatives.
The Oil Sands Branch of ASRD is:
- building an environmental governance framework for oil sands development
- developing environmental outcomes
- developing and implementing management systems and policies to address cumulative environmental effects and biodiversity for oil sands
- directing research and technology to reduce the environmental impacts and footprint of oil sands development
Oil Sands Branch is located at:
Oil Sands Branch
Lands Division
Sustainable Resource Development
11th Floor, Baker Building
10025 - 106th Street,
Edmonton Alberta, T5J 1G4
For more information please contact 780-644-8943.
