Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
EDMONTON — Ottawa is scaling back federal impact assessments for some energy projects, removing new in situ oilsands facilities and gas-fired power plants from the federal project list and shifting primary regulatory responsibility to the provinces.
The federal government says the changes are intended to reduce duplication, streamline project reviews and provide greater certainty for investment.
Interprovincial and international pipelines will also no longer be assessed through the Impact Assessment Agency’s designated-project process, with reviews instead led by the Canada Energy Regulator.
The federal government says assigning responsibility for those projects to a single regulator will simplify the decision-making process.
Premier Danielle Smith welcomed the changes, saying they fulfill part of an agreement previously reached between Alberta and Ottawa.
“Yesterday the Federal Government announced that new oil sands facilities and gas-fired electricity plants will no longer be regulated under C-69. These projects will now be left to the provinces to regulate and approve,” Smith wrote on X.
“This fulfills a promise made by the Federal Government to Alberta in our MOU implementation agreement signed previously.”
Smith said the changes will reduce regulatory duplication and uncertainty while helping Alberta’s energy and electricity sectors attract investment.
However, she said the province still wants broader changes to the federal Impact Assessment Act, commonly known as Bill C-69.
“C-69 still needs to be either repealed or amended further to fully respect provincial autonomy and reduce regulatory uncertainty – and we will continue to pursue our case in front of Alberta’s Court of Appeal to help facilitate these needed changes,” Smith wrote.
“However, there is also no doubt that today’s decision by the federal government is yet another needed step in the right direction for Alberta and all of Canada.”
The regulatory changes specifically remove new in situ oilsands projects and natural gas electricity generation plants from the federal impact assessment list.
Provinces will instead take the lead on environmental assessments and approvals for those projects.
Some power lines and offshore renewable projects will also shift to Canada Energy Regulator-led assessments.
The federal government says industry stakeholders expressed strong support for the changes.
Comments