OIL SANDS The Case for Caution Saskatchewan Environmental Society

What are oil sands?

A dense, sticky mixture of sand, water and tarry material found underground

Bitumen Source: Scientific American, October 2009

A Grain of Oil Sand

Bitumen Film Water Layer Sand Particle Source: Canadian Centre for Energy Information

Canada has the second largest reserve of crude oil in the world.

Source: Athabasca Oil Sands Corporation

Biophysical Features of the Region www.chrs.ca/Rivers/Clearwater (Website of Canadian Heritage River Systems)

Clearwater River Valley

www.chrs.ca/Rivers/Clearwater (Website of Canadian Heritage River Systems)

The Clearwater River Valley and the nearby oil sands area are a source of valuable archaeological sites www.chrs.ca/Rivers/Clearwater (Website of Canadian Heritage River Systems)

Oil Sands Projects Mining In-Situ

Mining Process

Source: Shell Canada

Digging and transportation of oil sand ore

Oil sands is a source of contamination for many birds, as well as a primary cause of fragmentation of their breeding habitat.

Source: The Waters That Bind Us (Pembina Institute )

Suncor’s Operation At Fort McMurray Photo Credit: David Dodge , Pembina Institute

The Governments of Alberta and Canada permit waste disposal in tailings ponds that have become like lakes.

1.8 billion liters of tailings is produced each day.

Photo Credit: Pembina Institute Reference: The Tar Sands Leaking Legacy by Matt Price (2008) Refer to Page 8.

Environmental Defense and Pembina Institute estimate that 11 million liters of contaminated water per day leak from tailings ponds into the larger environment.

Photo Credit: Oil Sands Myths: Clearing The Air (Pembina Institute, 2009) Reference: The Tar Sands Leaking Legacy by Matt Price (2008) Refer to page 2.

Suncor’s Tar Island Dyke separates an oil sands tailings pond from the Athabasca River. We do not expect tailings ponds to be part of oil sands in Saskatchewan, but this photo speaks to how the Government of Canada has regulated the industry.

Tailing pond Athabasca River

Tar Sands from Space Tailing Ponds Athabasca river

Source: Google Maps

In-Situ process – Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage Source: The Pembina Institute

Heavy use of water – where does it come from

In-Situ production

Source: Alberta Oil Magazine

The Central Facility of the Opti-Nexen In Situ SAGD Project Source: Pembina Institute and David Dodge

Impacts on the Environment

The Central Facility of the Opti-Nexen In Situ SAGD Project Source: Pembina Institute and David Dodge

SAGD Oil Sands And Forest Fragmentation: 80% Of Lands Are Within 250 Metres Of Industrial Infrastructure Photo Credit: Pembina Institute/David Dodge

Northeast Alberta Species In Decline

• • • • • • • • • • • Lynx Caribou Marten Fisher Wolverine Boreal Chickadee Rose-Breasted Grosbeak Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Red-Breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Various Warblers

Source: Richard Schneider and Simon Dyer. Death by a Thousand Cuts (2006). Refer to page 13.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Woodland boreal caribou in the oil sands areas of northern Alberta are in decline Source: Pembina Institute and Wayne Lynch

Pipeline Gathering System For Bitumen Extraction

Source: Pembina Institute & Petro Canada

Species Decline: Lynx numbers drop significantly in regions of the boreal forest subjected to industrial development.

Photo Credit: Pembina Institute and David Dodge

An aerial acrobat and a member of the goatsucker family, Chordeiles minor (common night hawk) is classified as threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. It inhabits the proposed oil sands area in northwest Saskatchewan.

Source: Nature Canada Web Site; Photo by Dick Canni

The Lesser Scaup breeds in northwest Saskatchewan and will be vulnerable to oil sands. The Scaup has faced a 70% decline in population in North America over the past 50 years. Photo Credit: Google Images

Road construction, construction of water crossings and pipeline construction can cause soil erosion and increase the sediments entering surface water.

Scope of Water Impacts

• • • • • Steam injection can lower aquifer levels in the vicinity of the source well, in turn creating a reduction in the water levels of nearby lakes, ponds and wetlands.

Aquifer water quality can be damaged by well blow outs.

Thermal plumes created during bitumen extraction can mobilize arsenic.

Bitumen under pressure may leak into permeable aquifers.

Sludge and solid wastes disposed of in landfills could leak over the long term.

Air Pollution

Airborne pollutants from oil sands plants include volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide.

Opti-Nexen Upgrader, Alberta Photo Credit: Pembina Institute: David Dodge

Greenhouse gas emissions from the oil sands are at least triple those from conventional oil. For many in situ plants oil sands plants, greenhouse gas emissions can be even higher.

Photo Credit: David Dodge, Pembina Institute

Comparison of GHG emissions resulting from production of oil

Acid precipitation can take place hundreds of miles away from the emission source Slide Credit: www.jamesglass.org

Impact of acid rain on lakes

• • • • Bacteria, algae, insects, plants, clams, snails, crayfish, frogs negatively affected Fish can starve because of food depletion Fish and their eggs poisoned Different species affected at different levels of acidity

Emission

Acid deposition SO 2 H 2 O 2 PANs NO X O 3 Others Direct damage to leaves and bark Soil acidification Leaching of soil nutrients Acid Release of toxic metal ions Reduced photosynthesis and growth Root damage Increased Susceptibility to drought, extreme cold, insects, mosses, and disease organisms Tree death Impact of Acidic Deposition on Ecosystems Reduced nutrient and water uptake

Summary of Environmental Impacts From Oil Sands • • • • • Forest fragmentation and loss of boreal forest habitat / many species in decline Loss of lands that deserve protection or have high alternative economic values Risk of aquifer contamination and decline in surface water quality Sulphur and nitrous oxide emissions result in acid rain and damage to northern lakes.

Unusually high greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional oil production

• Is it worth it?

The question:

• Would it make more sense to concentrate on developing cleaner sources of energy?