As it expands its Fort Hills oilsands mine, Suncor wants to build a wall several kilometres long through the McClelland Lake wetland — so it can mine under half of it. A review could change that.
The 3,000-hectare McClelland Lake wetland complex was considered too special to dig up.
Then an energy company found one billion barrels of oil under it.
The wetland complex, 90 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alta., is a soggy and wildlife-rich area of interconnected wetlands and an important stopover for migratory birds. It’s also a major carbon sink, the result of thousands of years of buildup of peatlands.
When TrueNorth Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, obtained leases in the area in 1998, it was forbidden to dig up a portion of those holdings. Koch Industries is a privately held conglomerate based in the U.S. still run by one of two controversial billionaire brothers.
A legally binding document known as a sub-regional plan had put the unique lake and surrounding wetland off limits to oilsands mining in 1996, but by 2002 the provincial cabinet had changed the plan after TrueNorth asked for a relaxation of the rules.
Half of the wetland was suddenly fair game for open-pit mining.
Oilsands giant Suncor wants to cut a sensitive wetland in two. So far, it has the green light | The Narwhal
The 3,000-hectare McClelland Lake wetland complex was considered too special to dig up.
Then an energy company found one billion barrels of oil under it.
The wetland complex, 90 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alta., is a soggy and wildlife-rich area of interconnected wetlands and an important stopover for migratory birds. It’s also a major carbon sink, the result of thousands of years of buildup of peatlands.
When TrueNorth Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, obtained leases in the area in 1998, it was forbidden to dig up a portion of those holdings. Koch Industries is a privately held conglomerate based in the U.S. still run by one of two controversial billionaire brothers.
A legally binding document known as a sub-regional plan had put the unique lake and surrounding wetland off limits to oilsands mining in 1996, but by 2002 the provincial cabinet had changed the plan after TrueNorth asked for a relaxation of the rules.
Half of the wetland was suddenly fair game for open-pit mining.
Oilsands giant Suncor wants to cut a sensitive wetland in two. So far, it has the green light | The Narwhal