Technical Support Document for the Regional Sustainable Development Strategy for the Athabasca Oil Sands Area

• Main Author: Alberta Environment
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: 1999
• Subjects: envir; geo; First Nations
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.7939/R33274; https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/35cda4c2-e1ee-4849-8a3e-d833e8237480

Alberta's environmental and natural resource management systems are designed to make sure the environmental impact of development is minimised, and the air, land, surface water and drinkable groundwater all meet provincial guidelines. In addition, they are used to ensure disturbed areas are properly reclaimed, renewable resources regenerate successfully, wildlife populations are sustained and wilderness is conserved. Alberta's current system is very effective and highly regarded — the standards set in Alberta meet or exceed most national and North American standards. The unprecedented pace of development in the Athabasca Oil Sands area, however, presents new challenges for the environmental and resource management systems of governments and industry. These include overlapping needs for access to public land, competition for renewable public resources such as forests, wildlife and water, and increased potential for effects on environmental quality, species diversity and abundance, and human health. In September of 1998, in anticipation of further oil sands resource development in Northern Alberta, Alberta Environment (AENV) committed to leading the creation of the Regional Sustainable Development Strategy (RSDS) for the Athabasca Oil Sands area. The development was led by the Northeast Boreal Region of AENV with a strong partnership involving regional stakeholders and regulators. The partners include First Nations and Aboriginal Communities, industry, environmental interest groups and government agencies (provincial [Alberta and Saskatchewan], municipal and federal). The RSDS builds on Alberta's current environmental and resource management system by creating the framework for the following: • Providing support for continued economic development in the region that addresses environmental needs and resource sustainability. • Creating an enhanced management framework that will adapt to the changing needs of the area which will guide government’s environmental and resource managers. • Developing a strong foundation ...