Thread by @politicalham

1/🧵 Alberta Energy Regulator @AER_news Board Chair David Goldie announces investigation of @ImperialOil Kearl 2022 tailings pond seepage leak + 2023 5.3 million litre tailings pond wastewater spill.

Essential background:
#OOTT #ABleg @ACFN_KaiTaile
typefully.com/politicalham/p…

2/March 28 AER release: At March 16 meeting, AER Board of Directors "decided to commission an impartial, third-party review into certain aspects of the AER’s response to incidents at Imperial Oil’s Kearl facilities that took place between May 2022 and February 2023.

David Goldie

3/"Today, the board will issue a request for quotation (RFQ) seeking a qualified, impartial, 3rd-party" to conduct the review.

In "spirit of transparency" and to demonstrate "the regulator is both credible and trustworthy the findings of the review will be shared publicly."

4/Goldie says AER CEO Laurie Pushor "welcomes this 3rd-party review both as an opportunity for an independent recounting of the facts surrounding the AER’s response and as an opportunity for the AER to learn and grow as applicable."

5/MH: Credibility of the reviewer is crucial. Expect skepticism from AER critics, who accuse the regulator of hiding, manipulating info from public.

A consistent criticism from experts I interview is that information, data is hard to get from the AER.
share.transistor.fm/s/f1236e3a

6/"The terms of the RFQ relate to potential issues with notification and timing of notification to Indigenous communities and other stakeholders and other potential process issues."

MH: Leaders like AFCN Chief Allan Adam (below) are incensed and will not be placated.

7/Expect the AER to mea culpa on poor/no communication w/indigenous communities.

The real question will be the terms of reference for "potential process issues." Will this be framed to give the reviewers wide latitude or will it be restrictive and safer for the AER?

8/🧵 on updates:
typefully.com/politicalham/w…

9/🧵 about reactions to the leak + spill.
typefully.com/politicalham/T…

10/Watch for an Energi Media exclusive interview with a senior engineer who has over 30 years experience working with oil sands companies on tailings ponds.

He'll describe some of the ways the AER misleads the public about tailings pond issues.

11/Comment from Drew Yewchuk, staff lawyer at the Public Interest Law Clinic, @UCalgaryLaw

"It's total crap. The OPIC (Office of the Information and Privacy Commision of AB) is an independent body already investigating.

12/"A private 3rd-party hired by AER Board will not be usefully 'impartial', will get in the way & produce a whitewash.

"Maybe if the MCFN (Miskew Cree First Nation) and ACFN selected a third-party reviewer that would get us somewhere.

13/"Another option would be for them to release their actual records.

"The AER could save all the e-mails between their staff and Imperial and e-mails between AER staff discussing Kearl for the last 9 months and post it to their website.

14/"What the AER is doing is public relations management instead of transparency."