Alberta regulator lays charges against Imperial for failing to contain, report oilsands berm overflow

Imperial Oil is facing nine charges for allowing millions of litres of oilsands wastewater to leak from its Kearl oilsands mine in northern Alberta, and for failing to mitigate the environmental damage.

The Alberta Energy Regulator announced the charges Friday in connection with a berm overflow of industrial wastewater at the company's Kearl mine, about 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.

The charges relate to a series of leaks at the industrial site that went unreported to the public for months. The berm overflow was the second of two significant leaks at the Kearl mine, which put Alberta's regulatory practices in the spotlight and raised questions about transparency in the oilsands.

In a statement Friday, the regulator said Imperial faces nine charges in connection with a release from an overflowing berm that was reported to the AER on Feb. 4, 2023.

The incident resulted in the release of 5.3 million litres of tailings wastewater from a catchment pond at the site.

The charges allege Imperial failed to immediately report the release to the regulator as required, and failed to take adequate steps to contain and mitigate the damage.

The company has also been charged for releasing a harmful substance into the environment and for causing damage to public land. 

Six of the charges were laid under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. The other three were laid under the Public Lands Act.

The first seepage from the Kearl site was first noticed in May 2022 but neither Imperial nor the Alberta Energy Regulator kept local First Nations or provincial and federal environment officials briefed. 

News of that initial leak came out in February 2023 in an environmental protection order from the regulator, after the release of millions of litres of tailings wastewater from a catchment pond at the site came to light.

In May 2022, the initial seepage was reported to First Nations and communities as discoloured water pooling on the surface. They received little information after that until February when the environmental protection orders were issued. 

The delays in reporting both leaks to the federal government and Indigenous communities downstream of the mine has raised ongoing concerns about regulatory oversight within the industry and prompted a series of investigations, including an ongoing probe by the federal government.

Alberta is required to notify the federal government of such leaks within 24 hours.

The realization that nine months had passed between the discovery of the original release and the public announcement drew widespread anger from Indigenous communities, downstream water users and conservation advocates.