Athabasca Bands Monitoring Oilsands’ Water Usage
Tuesday, February 06, 2007 at 14:34
A northern leader says two Saskatchewan bands in the Far North are keeping an eye on recent efforts to curb the oil industry’s thirst for fresh water.
Prince Albert Grand Council northern vice-chief Don Deranger attended a conference in Fort McMurray recently, where leaders from a northern alberta tribal council criticized what they feel are weak environmental regulations by the Alberta government.
Deranger says it’s well known that huge volumes of water are needed to create each barrel of crude oil.
He adds the Fond du Lac and Black Lake First Nations have a lot to lose if Lake Athabasca is tapped repeatedly.
The Alberta government is preparing to introduce a new water management framework that will regulate withdrawals from lakes.
However, critics say they doubt the new rules will have much bite.