Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act

Albertans care deeply about how energy resource development will affect their environment and safety, and rightly so. As the sole regulator of energy resources, geothermal, and mining industry, we must ensure that our air, land, water, and biodiversity are protected through strong regulatory oversight.

The Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) supports and promotes the protection, enhancement, and wise use of the environment. We are responsible for reviewing EPEA applications and regulatory submissions related to energy resource development. As part of this process, we review the potential impacts of a proposed project on the environment and determine if safe development can happen.

What We Regulate Under the Act

Our EPEA responsibilities are specific to energy and mineral resource development. We are responsible for projects and activities such as oil sands mines, coal mines, in situ oil sands plants, upgraders, gas plants, power plants and heating plants in respect of energy and mineral resource development activities, bulk petroleum storage facilities, and pipelines. The Activities Designation Regulation specifies the level of authorization required for activities regulated under EPEA (e.g., notice, registration, approval). We also review air, wastewater, groundwater, soils, and decommissioning and reclamation reports associated with these projects and activities.

Our requirements ensure that public safety and environmental protection stay top of mind throughout the entire life cycle of energy resource development.

We also have a team dedicated to emergency preparedness and response, and our inspectors and investigators work hard to ensure that companies mitigate potential risks and are able to respond immediately should an incident occur.

If we find a company is not following regulations under the EPEA, we will enforce compliance through various tools.

Read our fact sheet for more information about how we regulate under the EPEA.

What We Don’t Regulate

Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (AEPA) is responsible for regulating under EPEA as it relates to oil refineries, standalone power plants (except a standalone power plant producing thermal electrical power from a geothermal resource as defined in the Geothermal Resource Development Act), and other EPEA activities not within the AER’s jurisdiction. AEPA also sets policy direction to support environmental, social, and economic outcomes.

Application Process

Submit an Application

Companies must submit their application (or amendment) and associated documents by email to EPEA.WA.Applications@aer.ca. The documents must be in PDF format. All applications must include the following:

• the type of activity
• the location, capacity, and size of the activity
• an account of any public consultation undertaken or proposed by the company
• any other requirements specified in the act, regulations, and applicable policies and guides

To assist applicants, we have supporting forms and guides for specific activities at the bottom of this page, and a Guide to Content for Energy Project Applications document. We may waive requirements that do not apply to a proposed project. Applicants can apply to amend an approval at any time.  

Review Process

1. We share all applications on our Public Notice of Application page to encourage public participation in the approval process.
2. Anyone who believes they may be directly and adversely affected by an application can file a statement of concern (SOC). If we receive an SOC, it may take us longer to process the application.
3. We will assign the application to an application coordinator for initial review.  
4. We will determine if the specified activity’s environmental impact is in accordance with the act and associated regulations. Our review may address design plans, site suitability, proposed monitoring programs, and methods to minimize generation, use, and release of substances.
5. We may request additional information (through a supplemental information request) to complete our technical review.
6. Following our review and adequate public and aboriginal consultation, we will decide to approve the application or amendment. If we approve it, we will issue an EPEA approval or amendment with conditions. If we deny it, the applicant can file an appeal through our appeal process.
7. We will email the applicant to notify them of our decision, and also post it to the Publication of Decision page.

Additional Information

Transfers, Suspensions, and Cancellations

An approval cannot be transferred without our written consent. Applications for transfer should be emailed to EPEA.WA.Applications@aer.ca. We can add terms and conditions in the transfer of an EPEA approval to a new approval holder.

An approval may be suspended or cancelled upon request by the AER or the approval holder, or through an enforcement order.

Term Timelines 

We can issue an approval for a maximum of ten years; however, we can also set a shorter term. See the Environmental Protection and Enhancement (Miscellaneous) Regulation (section 7) for details.

Security 

Before undertaking activities related to mines, the applicant or approval holder may be asked to provide financial security. In the event that terms of the approval or legislation are breached by the applicant, we will be entitled to use the security to remedy the deficiencies.

Environmental Impact Assessments

Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are built into our application process. Once a company submits an EIA report, our staff will review it to identify uncertainties or risks.

AEP maintains a registry of recent and historical environmental assessment projects.

Reporting

A number of reports must be submitted under EPEA approvals. See the following documents for more information:

• Acceptable Formats for EPEA Approval and Code of Practice Records and Submission Coordinates – Provides an overview of submission procedures. 
• EPEA Approval Industrial Monitoring Documentation Submission Naming Guideline – Outlines the required file naming conventions for industrial monitoring reports.