Paper No. 6-2
Presentation Time: 8:25 AM
ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL CUMULATIVE EFFECTS IN A REGION WITH A 50-YEAR HISTORY OF OIL AND GAS ACTIVITIES
RIVARD, Christine1, BORDELEAU, Geneviève2, PANICONI, Claudio3, MENESES-VEGA, Barbara Javiera2, KONONOVS, Daniels4, KONSTANTINOVSKAYA, Elena5, ALESSI, Daniel6, DEGENHARDT, Dani7, LEBLANC-ROCHETTE, Philippe8, LAVOIE, Roxane8, XU, Bin9, CROW, Heather10, HAERI ARDAKANI, Omid11, GUARIN-MARTINEZ, Laura Isabel2, MCINTOSH, Anne C.S.12, AUBIN, Isabelle13 and SMERDON, Brian6, (1)Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, 490 rue de la Couronne, Québec, QC G1K 9A9, Canada, (2)INRS, 490 rue de la Couronne, Quebec City, QC G1K 9A9, Canada, (3)490 rue de la Couronne, Quebec City, QC G1K 9A9, Canada, (4)Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, 1-26 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada, (5)32 University Campus NW Of Alberta, University of Alberta, Earth Sciences Building, Earth And Atmospheric Sciences, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, CANADA, (6)Earth and Atmospheric Science, University of Alberta, 1-26 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada, (7)Northern Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Edmonton, AB T6H 3S5, Canada, (8)École supérieure d'aménagement du territoire et de développement régional, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada, (9)Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), Edmonton, AB T5G 2R1, Canada, (10)Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0E8, Canada, (11)Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary, AB T2L 2A7, Canada, (12)Department of Science, Augustana Campus, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T4V 2R3, Canada, (13)Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 2E5, Canada
Although it has been widely recognized for some decades that the accumulation of industrial activities in a given area has an impact on the environment that is greater than the sum of the impacts of each individual activity, estimating cumulative effects (CEs) remains a big challenge for a wide variety of reasons, including lack of data, insufficient understanding of the processes involved in the multiple interactions among biophysical components, and poor collaboration among stakeholders. To better consider and assess CEs, Natural Resources Canada has initiated several projects to develop methodologies and collect environmental data. One of these projects is located in west-central Alberta, near Fox Creek, where the hydrocarbon and lumber industries have been very active over the past 50 years. The Fox Creek project was initiated in 2019 and focuses mainly on a 700 km
2 study area. It involves fieldwork, laboratory analysis, and numerical modeling. Nine monitoring wells were drilled in 2020 as there were none in the study area.
This project includes the following components (or studies): 1) 2D and 3D hydrogeological models and coupled surface water/groundwater models to study hydrodynamics, 2) estimation of the water budgets and water and soil characteristics in both vegetated and non-vegetated (impacted) areas to better understand the hydrologic cycle in this area, 3) a geomechanical model to study the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing, 4) a study of landscape change over time using satellite imagery, 5) a geochemical study to determine if water resources have been affected by industrial activities, and 6) a plant community study to assess functional recovery in disturbed forest ecosystems. This project focuses on collecting quality data and sharing these data and results among collaborators.
In parallel, a general study to improve the current CEs assessment process in environmental assessments (EAs) is being conducted through interviews and focus groups with various stakeholders including: federal government employees, consultants conducting EAs, and Indigenous communities and environmental advisory committees. The objective is to provide concrete and constructive recommendations that will hopefully lead to effective solutions to achieve satisfactory CEs assessments over the long term.
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