KEHEWIN – Keepers of the Water representative Nigel Robinson gave a presentation opposing the carbon capture and storage (CCS) network that Pathways Alliance has proposed in the Lakeland region.
The presentation was held at the Kehewin Rec Centre on March 20.
Robinson shared information from Environmental Defense, stating the CCS project will cost an estimated $16 billion to $24 billion, and companies are looking to secure public financing to cover three-quarters of the cost.
Robinson posed questions, directed at Pathways Alliance, including if they will commit to a comprehensive environmental impact assessment, as well as guarantee continuous contamination monitoring.
“Why are you asking billions from taxpayers? . . . What makes this project different from the other expensive and underperforming carbon capture projects?” said Robinson.
Speaking with Lakeland This Week after the meeting, Kendall Dilling, President of Pathways Alliance, said the company has made progress on the CCS project.
“Engineers and technical experts from Pathways Alliance member companies have been advancing engineering, regulatory and environmental work for the project application, and engaging Indigenous and other local communities along the proposed pipeline route,” said Dilling.
“Pathways Alliance commits to working with governments to obtain sufficient levels of fiscal support and the required regulatory approvals that are necessary to make this project a reality,” said Dilling
Robinson explained that Keepers of the Water was established in 2006 at a meeting in Lac La Biche. It started with a group of people from all over the area, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who were concerned about the Athabasca River and watershed.
The group continues to advocate for the protection of water and are in opposition of Pathways Alliance’s CCS project, because, as Robinson explained, there are risks involved, along with a large amount of water required.
Robinson believes CCS is industry's solution to climate change.
“They are strapping into power plants, boiling gas refineries, and other energy producers hoping to capture tons of carbon. When they do that, they add chemicals to it and pressurize it, so it becomes a liquid, and put it in a pipeline,” said Robinson.
He explained that the pressurized carbon would travel through 400 kilometers of pipeline where it would then be buried at various injection sites throughout an area extending from north of Cold Lake to south of Elk Point, west of St. Paul, and east to the Saskatchewan border.
Robinson said the area was chosen because of the presence of basal cambrian sandstone, which is said to have the ability to soak up the carbon and hold it. He said it is not yet known how massive amounts of sequestered carbon will act over time.
“This is the biggest proposed carbon project in history, and even for carbon sites that currently exist, we don't know how tons of highly pressurized liquid carbon are going to act over the next 100 years.”
Robinson added, “Our science advisor, let me know this project is an example of bad science run amok. and if they were to do an environmental impact assessment, it would quite likely result in the project not moving forward.”
Robinson said there is no law in the province stating that carbon capture projects need an environmental impact assessment, which the Keepers of the Water find distressing.
“There is no site-specific emergency response required for carbon pipelines for storage hubs in Alberta. There are no laws in place yet, they haven't caught up to protect communities from this technology.”
According to the Pathways Alliance website, the CCS facility will have emergency shut down procedures.
“Emergency preparedness plans are developed following provincial and federal regulations and Occupational Health & Safety standards. Plans are submitted to regulators for approval and are tested through mock exercises with local and regional participation, including regulators,” stated information from Pathways Alliance.
CCS also requires large amounts of freshwater. Robinson said equipping facilities with CCS can increase water use by up to 200 per cent.
According to the Pathways Alliance website, the stored CO2 will be monitored, and any leaks will be detected through seismic imaging before it can reach groundwater.
“There are more than 2,500 km of CO2 pipelines in North America, including a cross-border line between North Dakota and Saskatchewan. This line has been in operation since 2000, transporting more than 40 million tonnes of CO2 without incident,” states the Pathways Alliance website.
Robinson encouraged people of all backgrounds to educate themselves on the topic of CCS, speak to their municipal representatives, and says he would like to see people call for an impact assessment.
