News
Nov 01, 2011
Energy company ordered by court to fund water-use program
By Ryan Cormier, edmontonjournal.com October 31, 2011
EDMONTON – A Norwegian-based energy company that broke the terms of its Alberta water licence has been fined $190,000, most of which will fund an industry training program about water use and compliance with environmental law.
In provincial court on Monday, Statoil Canada Ltd. pleaded guilty to one charge under the Water Act.
Statoil had admitted to breaking the terms of its licence by withdrawing water from two unapproved sources, using larger intake screens than authorized, withdrawing unapproved amounts of water and improperly measuring the amount of water taken from sources such as Argo Lake and May River.
The company also “underestimated the volume of water diverted in a report to regulators,” according to an Alberta Environment and Water release.
The offences took place between December 2008 and May 2009 in northeastern Alberta, near the town of Conklin, south of Fort McMurray. Charges were brought in February 2011.
Originally, Statoil faced 19 charges under provincial legislation. Those original charges were withdrawn by the Crown as part of plea deal after Statoil agreed to plead guilty to some offences this past summer.
The withdrawn charges included an allegation that Statoil intentionally provided false reports to regulators instead of underestimating water volumes.
Of the $190,000 in ordered payments, only $5,000 is a standard fine.
In an example of creative sentencing, the court ordered Statoil to pay the remaining $185,000 to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers to fund an online training course to teach proper water diversion to the energy industry.
The association will hold the money in trust, according to a court order. The money cannot be used for anything else.
The course, aimed at field-level workers in the industry, will be 45 minutes long and include support materials for companies to institute best practices.
The court order specifies that the program must be launched within a year.
The North Saskatchewan Water Alliance, a non-profit group, will provide some content for the program. The provincial government will have final signing authority to approve the completed project.
Creative sentencing was introduced to Alberta in 1993 when the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act was proclaimed, though it was first used in environmental cases in 1996.
Fines have been distributed among a wide variety of groups, non-profit organizations and schools, from the University of Alberta to Habitat for Humanity.
In a statement, the president of Statoil Canada Ltd. acknowledged the mistakes made by his company but stressed that they were not intentional.
“Statoil accepts responsibility for not fully complying with the terms and conditions for our license to withdraw water during this period in 2008 and 2009,” said Lars Christian Bacher. “For Statoil, it has been important to co-operate constructively with Alberta Environment and we have provided information to clarify all facts. We appreciate this process has clarified that the contraventions have not been intentional and that we have not knowingly provided wrong information.”
Bacher also said the company has taken internal corrective steps such as the establishment of relevant instruction manuals and adjusting the size of its intake screens.
Statoil Canada is based in Calgary.
Statoil entered the Canadian market through an acquisition of North American Oil Sands Corporation in 2007.
The company currently has 1,100 square kilometres of oilsands leases in Alberta.
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