INVITED SPEAKER

Water quality and quantity in the oil sands: The goals, regulatory response and the conundrum of remaining flexible

Dr. Preston McEachern
Alberta Environment - Oil Sands Environmental Management Division, Canada

Duration

60 minutes

Abstract

Recent press and public discourse on oil sands mining have been dominated by negative views on water use, water quality, reclamation and ultimately on sustainability. These interdependent issues are indeed challenges in oil sands management but their solutions are comprehensible, approachable and are being effectively tackled. This talk will provide an overview of the key environmental challenges with respect to water and how these are being addressed in northeastern Alberta. In so doing the talk is meant to dispel some of the fictions in an unapologetic attempt to focus attention on the most pressing environmental issues, especially the eventual return of water and its solutes to the Athabasca River system. Key to this debate is assurance that impacts are understood and are acceptable so I will review monitoring in the oil sands region, the current status of water quality and quantity in the Athabasca River and link this to emerging regulatory direction under the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan. Emerging techniques for performance evaluation and reporting, particularly the analysis of contaminants related to oil sands will also be briefly reviewed. The talk will conclude with an assessment of potential regulatory challenges, where flexibility must be considered to reconcile potential conflicting goals (e.g. creation of storage to meet Instream Flow Needs vs. reduction of footprint and rapid tailings reclamation).

Biography of the Invited Speaker

Dr. McEachern received his PhD from the University of Alberta dealing with northern hydrology and water quality. He has been with Alberta Environment for 10 years, a majority of which were with the Northern Region and now the Clean Energy Branch tackling oil sands related issues. His group is at the fore of issues such as tailings management, the creation of policy components for protecting water quality and quantity and in the public debates about sustainability of oil sands development. Dr. McEachern is active in research with adjunct professor appointments at the University of Alberta in Civil and Environmental Engineering supervising students in water quality and water treatment, at the University of Victoria supervising students in hydrology and at Lakehead supervising students in forestry and reclamation. Dr. McEachern has lived and worked in southwest Asia, Africa and the USA. He is an avid outdoor enthusiast with a passion for mountain climbing, running and skiing.