New monitoring sites in the NWT, including on the Slave River at Fort Smith, will check for impacts from Alberta's oil sands development. - NNSL file photo
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Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, February 27, 2012
The NWT will play a role in a new monitoring plan for the oil sands development announced earlier this month by the federal and Alberta governments.
"There will be monitoring stations for air, water and biodiversity located in the Northwest Territories," said Mark Johnson, a spokesperson for Environment Canada in Ottawa.
The monitoring stations will be located at Fort Smith, Hay River and Fort Resolution.
"As we move forward with implementation, we will work with the Government of the Northwest Territories on the details associated with each station, including the necessary technical expertise to support monitoring in the area," Johnson noted.
The Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring was announced Feb. 3. Under the plan, increased air, water, land and biodiversity monitoring of the oil sands will begin this year.
It is designed to improve understanding of the long-term cumulative effects of oil sands development by more frequent monitoring for more substances at an increased number of sites.
The plan is one of the most transparent and accountable oil sands monitoring systems in the world, said federal Environment Minister Peter Kent in a news release. "These scientific reports will be posted on our web page for the world to see."
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