Environmental protection order: Updates on Imperial’s actions

September 27, 2023 – Imperial continues monitoring and assessment at Kearl site

Imperial continues to provide regular updates on work underway at its Kearl oil sands facility to address four areas of shallow seepage of industrial wastewater from its operating lease area.

Current status:

• Monitoring and assessment ongoing following the completion of construction on mitigations
• Water sampling data stable, no indication of adverse impacts to the Firebag River or Waterbody 3
• No indication of adverse impacts to local wildlife or fish populations, expanded monitoring continues
• Enhanced notification protocols with communities, supporting independent testing

Construction work was completed in June on key mitigation efforts, which included expanding the existing seepage interception system with additional drainage structures, pumping wells and vacuum systems.

Monitoring and assessment work continues, which includes additional delineation work in the area to determine if any further mitigations are required. As part of this work, Imperial installed additional monitoring wells during the summer.

Enhanced water and wildlife monitoring continues in the area and fencing around infrastructure remains in place to prevent access. To date, there is no indication of adverse impacts to wildlife or fish populations in nearby river systems, or risks to drinking water for local communities.

Imperial is also supporting independent testing and site tours for local Indigenous communities and is providing opportunities for input into our approach to environmental monitoring activities.  Indigenous communities are also conducting independent technical reviews of the company’s mitigation and monitoring plans. Community notification protocols have also been updated to ensure communities are informed early and through multiple channels.

The company also continues to provide information to regulatory officials from the Alberta Energy Regulator and government departments and has been hosting regular site tours by officials. Imperial provides monitoring data/reports to the Alberta Energy Regulator every two weeks. Community updates are provided weekly.