Closed Investigations

During an investigation, we collect information necessary to understand why an incident happened, stop the noncompliant activity, identify the responsible parties, and, if necessary, take enforcement action. We make sure this process is timely, fair, and transparent.

Imperial Oil Kearl Oil Sands Incidents

All investigative phases of the Imperial Oil Kearl Oil Sands Incidents are now closed, and the resulting AER compliance and enforcement decisions including an Administrative Penalty and imposition of terms and conditions have been issued, and the Crown prosecution completed. We continue to oversee the terms and conditions imposed on Imperial by the AER in August of 2024 under the authority of the Oil and Gas Conservation Act (OGCA) for lessons learned from the Kearl shallow seepage release to improve industry management and understanding of industrial wastewater. Further, we will administer the Alberta Court of Justice’s creative sentencing order requirements process as directed. The full order along with the Agreed Statement of Facts can found here:  Noncompliance and Enforcement Dashboard.

The AER continues to oversee Imperial’s compliance with the Environmental Protection Order to ensure the regulator’s top priorities of public safety and the protection of the environment.

What Happened

The following is a summary of events. A more detailed timeline can be found in the EPO issued to Imperial on February 6, 2023.

AER Actions Taken

The AER issued an EPO to Imperial on February 6, 2023, pursuant to section 113 EPEA. Under the EPO, Imperial is required to take action and submit and implement plans related to communications, control, containment and delineation, sampling and monitoring, wildlife mitigation and monitoring, and remediation. The AER reviews and approves these plans, and Imperial is required to implement them as approved.

Members of the AER senior leadership team also reached out to stakeholders, including visiting the work underway on site at Imperial Kearl and meeting directly with Indigenous communities to answer questions and actively listen to concerns.

Third-Party Sampling Results

The following are sampling results from the monitoring at the Kearl site conducted by an independent third-party on behalf of the AER. 

Separate from the EPO, the AER conducted sampling of two areas of standing water in August, 2023, one north and east of Drainage Pond 4 and the other north of Polishing Pond 4.The results show no discernible presence of industrial wastewater.

Additional information and data is available on the Fort Chipewyan Working Group and Oil Sands Monitoring Program - Scientific papers and data pages on the Government of Alberta website. 

Updates

Related Information

• Read the statements we issued about the incidents.
• Learn more about the AER's role in incident response and how we conduct investigations.
• Visit our Compliance Dashboard for an overview of incidents that have occurred, active and closed investigations and noncompliance and enforcement activities. 

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