ERCB Approves Total Upgrader for Oil Sands
17 September 2010
The Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) has approved an application by Total E&P Canada Ltd. to construct and operate a 300,000 barrel-per-day oil sands upgrader in the Alberta Industrial Heartland area of Strathcona County.
In a 62-page decision report, the ERCB places seven conditions on the company. Those conditions require the company to:
- Achieve a sulfur recovery rate of 99.5% within six months of project commencement.
- Conduct a full-scale emergency response exercise prior to project start-up.
- Submit a site-specific emergency response plan and assessment of all hazards for the ERCB’s approval following the engineering and design phase and following the emergency response exercise.
- Submit a revised noise impact assessment six months prior to the start of construction.
- Update the baseline sound monitoring surveys in accordance with ERCB regulations.
- Conduct a sound monitoring survey three months after project start-up to ensure compliance with ERCB noise regulations.
- Satisfy the Board by not later than 1 October 2016 that construction of the project has commenced, or the approval will expire on 31 December 2016, unless the Board stipulates a later date.
The ERCB also expects Total to fulfill all 86 commitments made in the company’s application and during a public hearing held in Fort Saskatchewan. Commitments made by the company relate to stakeholder engagement, public safety, operations, construction and design.
In the decision, the ERCB makes five recommendations to government related to air quality, water quality, and human health studies.
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This smell like white wash. Anyway, nobody will check if goals are met.
Posted by: HarveyD | 17 September 2010 at 07:25 PM