Alberta Energy Regulator lays nine charges against Imperial Oil for 2023 spill

Tailings samples are being tested during a tour of Imperial's oil sands research centre in Calgary on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

The Alberta Energy Regulator has laid nine charges against Imperial Oil almost two years after an estimated 5.3 million litres of contaminated wastewater overflowed from a pond at its Kearl oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta.

The charges, announced Friday, include failing to report the spill as soon as the company became aware of it, releasing a substance that had or may have had a major impact on the environment and failing to immediately take all reasonable measures to clean up the spill.

While most of the charges are under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, the company is also facing charges under the Public Lands Act for “causing the loss or damage of public land” and for accumulating waste on public land.

Renato Gandia, a spokesperson for the Alberta Energy Regulator, said in an email that the agency can’t comment further as the matter is now before the courts.

A spokesperson for Imperial Oil, Lisa Schmidt, said the company is assessing next steps.

“We sincerely regret that this incident occurred and have taken actions to investigate and implement changes to prevent reoccurrence,” Schmidt said in an email Friday.

“We have reprogrammed equipment and updated sediment management processes and increased inspections and training for operators working in these areas.”

She said the spill, which wasn’t oilsands tailings but natural groundwater mixed with a small of volume of industrial wastewater, didn’t reach any nearby wetlands or rivers.

“When this overflow occurred, the water quickly froze and all impacted snow and ice from the area was removed,” she said.

“No water from this overflow entered any rivers and there continues to be no indication of adverse impacts to local wildlife.”

An internal investigation into the spill, posted to the company’s website in 2023, found that the pond was designed to operate automatically with pumps that would ensure the pond wouldn’t reach its maximum volume level.

But leading up to the spill, the pond had been operated manually by workers who weren’t able to effectively monitor the pond level.

“In the few days prior to the level reaching the spillway, environmental factors such as the surface of the pond being covered with snow and ice, snow build-up around the spillway, and low lighting at night made it difficult to verify level,” the investigation report reads.

Alberta Wilderness Association conservationist Phillip Meintzer said he’s glad to see the regulator lay charges against the company.

“The (Alberta Energy Regulator) has a history of, say, letting industry and corporations off easy, or even off entirely,” Meintzer said.

“This is a good news story in a way as it relates to the (regulator). It’s nice to see our regulator actually laying charges.”

Meintzer said it remains to be seen whether the courts will actually punish the company, but his organization thinks the company should face serious penalties.

“Just because those charges are laid doesn’t mean it necessarily leads to punishment,” he said.

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the courts rule.”

The new charges come after the regulator fined the company $50,000 last year for a previous wastewater release.

In that case, water containing toxic tailings seeped outside of the Kearl lease boundary in 2022, but nearby First Nations weren’t told the seepage included tailings until nine months later when the bigger spill was announced.

The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, downstream of Kearl, filed a lawsuit against the regulator for failing to keep it informed of that release.

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam did not immediately respond to an interview request regarding the new charges.

Imperial Oil is scheduled to make its first court appearance for the new charges next month in Fort McMurray.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2025.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press