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Amended Notice of Hearing
Proceeding ID 361
Syncrude Canada Ltd.
Mildred Lake Extension

NOTE: The initial notice of hearing was issued on May 25, 2018. The fax number for Syncrude Canada Ltd was not correct. This notice provides the proper fax number and an updated contact address for the company.

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) will hold a public hearing of Oil Sands Conservation Act application 1820856, Water Act applications 00263298-005 and 00363203-001, Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act application 00000026-034, and Public Land Act applications MSL0352, MSL170423, and MSL170430. This notice sets out how to request to participate in the hearing. The hearing will be scheduled after requests to participate are filed.

Description of the Project
Syncrude Canada Ltd proposes to develop the Mildred Lake Extension project (MLX project). It consists of two additional open pit mine areas in and beside the existing Mildred Lake site. The east mine extension (MLX-E) is sited west of the Athabasca River, and the west mine extension  (MLX-W) is sited west of the Mackay River and will require construction of a bridge across the Mackay River.

The MLX project is designed to sustain bitumen production levels after the current mine areas are depleted. The mineable resource is estimated at 738 million barrels of recoverable bitumen. The MLX project proposes using conventional shovel and truck mining technology and will extend the duration of mining activity by about 14 years.

The MLX project would use the existing Mildred Lake upgrader, extraction facilities, mining equipment, processing plant, and tailings facilities to process the mined ore. It includes a tailings management plan to manage tailings using existing tailings management infrastructure at the Mildred Lake site.

The MLX project will be about 35 kilometres (km) north of Fort McMurray on oil sands leases 17 and 22, in Townships 93 and 94, Ranges 10 through 12, West of the 4th Meridian, in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

The nearest urban centre is the hamlet of Fort McKay about 15 km north of the project area.

Where can I find information about the application and the proceeding?
For a copy of the hearing materials, contact
Syncrude Canada Ltd
150 – 6 Ave SW
7th Floor, East Tower
Calgary, AB  T2G 2C4
Attention: Isabelle Shelvey
Telephone: 587-956-6762
Fax: 403-385-8713
Email: @email

To view the materials in person or for information on AER procedures, contact
Elaine Arruda,Hearing Coordinator
Alberta Energy Regulator
Suite 1000, 250 – 5 Street SW
Calgary, Alberta  T2P 0R4
Email: @email
Phone: 403-297-7365

How can I apply to participate in the hearing?
Unless you are a party to the hearing, you must file a request to participate, even if you have already filed a statement of concern with the AER.

Your request to participate must include the information set out under section 9(2) of the Rules of Practice.

Send one copy of the request to Syncrude and one copy to the hearing coordinator. Submissions should be PDF documents with bookmarks, page numbers (with the first page in the document being numbered page one), and optical character recognition.

You must submit your request by the filing date below.

June 14

Final date to file a request to participate.

June 28

Final date for response from the applicant on any requests to participate.

 

Is this a public process?
Yes. Section 49 of the Rules of Practice requires that all documents and information filed for a proceeding be placed on the public record. If you file a submission, you must not include any personal information that you do not want to appear on or are not authorized to put on the public record. Section 49(2) of the Rules of Practice states how to apply to the AER for an order to keep information confidential.

If my request to participate is approved, can I apply to get reimbursed for hearing-related costs?
Yes. To seek advanced payment or repayment of hearing-related costs, you must apply according to Directive 031: REDA Energy Cost Claims.

How do I raise a question of constitutional law?
In addition to giving notice according to section 12 of the Administrative Procedures and Jurisdiction Act and schedule 2 of the Designation of Constitutional Decision Makers Regulation, you must include the following information if you intend to raise a question of constitutional law:

  1. the constitutional question you intend to raise,
  2. the legal argument you intend to make, and
  3. the evidence you intend to rely on in support of your legal argument.

What falls outside of the AER’s jurisdiction?
Submissions relating exclusively to compensation for land use are not dealt with by the AER and should be referred to the Alberta Surface Rights Board.
Under section 21 of the Responsible Energy Development Act, the AER does not have the jurisdiction to assess the adequacy of Crown consultation associated with the rights of aboriginal peoples as recognized and affirmed under the Constitution Act, 1982.

Table 1. Details of the applications

Application no.

Description

1820856

Application under section 13 of the Oil Sands Conservation Act for amendments to existing approval 8573, and for a tailings management plan.

00263298-005 and 00363203-001

Application under section 50 of the Water Act for a licence. Applications under sections 42 and 54 of the Water Act to amend existing approval 263298.

00000026-034

Application under sections 66 and 70 of Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act to amend existing approval 26-02.

MSL170423, MSL170430, and MSL0352

Applications under section 20 of the Public Land Act for two new mineral surface leases and to amend an existing mineral surface lease.

Issued at Calgary, Alberta, on May 30, 2018.
ALBERTA ENERGY REGULATOR