Mapping the Legal Framework for Oil Sands Development in Alberta

Authors

  • Nickie Nikolaou

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/alr2711

Abstract

Oil sands development in Alberta has become a focal point for a challenging discussion on how to balance global energy demand with critical environmental, climate, and social considerations. This article contributes to the discussion by providing a detailed account of the current legal framework for oil sands development in Alberta. It begins with policy and land-use planning, moves through the mineral and surface rights disposition stages, and then considers the project review, approval, and final reclamation stages. Throughout, it discusses what has changed (and what has not changed) in the legal framework since the last comprehensive review was undertaken in 2007, and underscores important areas of concern moving forward.

Downloads

Published

2022-09-07

Issue

Vol 60, No 1

Section

Articles

License

For Editions following and including Volume 61 No. 1, the following applies.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

For Editions prior to Volume 61 No. 1, the following applies.

Author(s) retain original copyright in the substantive content of the titled work, subject to the following rights that are granted indefinitely:

  1. Author(s) grant the Alberta Law Review permission to produce, publish, disseminate, and distribute the titled work in electronic format to online database services, including, but not limited to: LexisNexis, QuickLaw, HeinOnline, and EBSCO;
  2. Author(s) grant the Alberta Law Review permission to post the titled work on the Alberta Law Review website and/or related websites.
  3. Author(s) agree that the titled work may be used for educational or instructional purposes and/or in educational or instructional materials. The author(s) acknowledge that the titled work is subject to other such "fair dealing" provisions and applicable legislation.
  4. Author(s) grant a limited license to those accessing the titled work from an electronic database or an Alberta Law Review website to download the titled work onto their computer and to print a copy for their own personal, non-commercial use, subject to proper attribution.

To use the journal's content elsewhere, permission must be obtained from the author(s) and the Alberta Law Review.