About CEMA CEMA History
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Development activity in the north-eastern Alberta is staged for significant growth over the next decade or so. New and expanded projects to extract and process the oil sands are expected to produce growth in production and result in increased stresses on the environment in the region and beyond. The region of north-eastern Alberta now known as the Wood Buffalo Region has long been the home of aboriginal peoples, dating back at least 9,000 years. As early as the mid-1700’s, this area was visited by European explorers and fur traders – making it one of the earliest areas of Alberta explored by non-Aboriginal peoples. An economy based on natural recourses harvesting and trading was started then and continues to the present times. Treaties with the First Nations People were signed in this region over one hundred years ago (1899). Starting in the 1930’s interest in the bitumen from the oil sands in the region began to grow as demands for petroleum products increased. In the late 1960’s intensive industrial development of the region began to occur. Oil Sands Development and Cumulative Effects ConcernsThe new era of oil sands development in north-eastern Alberta’s Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo began in the mid – 1990’s. Due in part to lower production costs and higher oil prices, a record number of applications were made for new projects and for the expansion of existing oil sands operations in the region. This development resulted in questions about the ability of the environment to handle the level of projected growth and development in oil sands mining, extraction and upgrading. It also resulted in increased stakeholder concern over the potential combined, or cumulative effects that increased levels of industrial activity could have on the environment—on the land, water, and air. Cumulative environmental impacts could potentially affect environmental quality, biological diversity, and/or human health, resulting in habitat loss, wildlife loss, and reduces air and water quality. Regional Sustainable Development Strategy (RSDS) for the Athabasca Oil Sands Area Initiated to Address Potential Cumulative EffectsIn the late 1990’s, the Alberta Government took steps to initiate a strategy to address potential cumulative environmental effects in the oil sands region. The intent of the strategy was to provide a framework for managing cumulative environmental effects and to ensure sustainable development in the Athabasca oil sands area. In 1998, in conjunction with regional stakeholders and other regulators, Alberta Environment led the creation of the Regional Sustainable Development (RSDS) for the Athabasca Oil Sands Area. The Strategy was based on the anticipation of greater than $ 12 billion worth of new capital investments in the oil sands region. The RSDS identified and prioritized 72 environmental issues within the oil sands region that should be studied in light of the projected growth. Issues were divided into a list of 14 themes and three priority categories. A great deal of work and collaboration went into deterring which issues were most pressing and important to the community and to the environment. The Strategy was published in 1999. The diversity of environmental values and interest in the region prompted the need for multi-stakeholders forum to establish environmental management objective for the region. Cumulative Environmental Management Association formed to Address RSDS IssuesA Stakeholder Group, the Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA), was formed, therefore, in partnership with Alberta Environment and Alberta Sustainable Resources Development, to address 37 of the RSDS issues. The remaining RSDS issues not falling under CEMA’s mandate were to be addressed by existing government mandate or other regional initiatives. CEMA’s goal was to provide recommendations to Regulators on managing potential cumulative environmental effects using an array of environmental management tools such as environmental limits or thresholds. Priority Issues AreasCEMA’s current priority-level environmental issues were developed through the Regional Sustainable Development Strategy (RSDS) issues by Alberta Environment in July 1999. The initiative identified 72 priority environmental issues in the oil sands area. CEMA is responsible for addressing 37 of those issues. The CEMA priority issues include research and recommendations on the following:
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