Premier Jason Kenney (left) with Minister Jason Nixon (The Canadian Press)

By Justin Goulet

Province reinstates environmental reporting

Jun 23, 2020 | 11:52 AM

EDMONTON, AB – The Government of Alberta has announced that environmental reporting will resume July 15. Reporting had been halted back in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

READ MORE: Alberta suspends environmental reporting requirements over COVID-19 crisis

The July 15 restart date is four weeks earlier than planned.

“The temporary reporting relief provided through Environment and Parks allowed industry time to ensure the health and safety of staff and the communities in which they work,” said Jason Nixon, Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Parks, in a release.

“Now that the public health emergency is no longer in effect and Alberta is reopening as part of our phase two relaunch, industry can resume business while keeping communities and employees safe.”

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Alberta Environment and Parks had also authorized a three-month extension to industry to submit regulatory reports for emissions reduction achievements and renewable fuel operator compliance. The province says these reports are due June 30.

All documentation related to the Water Act approvals and licenses, as well as reports for public land rentals and reports related to Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act authorizations that were collected since the stop order was put in place must now be submitted.

The province noted that drinking water facilities were not affected by the order and were still required to submit reports during the pandemic stoppage.

Ministerial orders that were put in place by the Ministry of Energy are being rescinded on July 15.

“There is no higher priority than the safety of workers and the communities they work in. The unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic required us to operate under an abundance of caution during the height of the health emergency,” stated Minister of Energy, Sonya Savage.

“While this pause was of low risk, it is also important that we maintain full confidence in the rigour of our regulatory system and return to all regular reporting activities as soon as it is safe to do so. While we expect precautionary measures to be taken, we have no doubt that industry is more than capable of adapting to these challenges.”

Details on the ministerial order for Environment and Parks can be found here, while information on the order for Energy can be found here.

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