1. Kevin Percy SSC Indictors Meeting May 4-5, 2010 Calgary
Wood Buffalo Environmental Association: Environmental Monitoring in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
Kevin Percy
SSC Indictors Meeting
May 4-5, 2010 Calgary

2. Location

3. The Resource Estimated 1.3 trillion barrels oil
Reserve 173 billion barrels oil (economically accessible today)
Potential > 100 years production
Mbbl d-1
Mbbl d-1
Source: CAPP Environmental challenges and progress in Canada’s oil sands.

4. Major emission sources
Photo Source: CAPP (2008) Environmental challenges and progress in
Canada’s oil sands.

6. Industry, Regulation & WBEA
AOSR companies have clauses in their Approvals to operate that require environmental monitoring through funding/participation in WBEA
Air quality monitoring is required for compliance purposes
“Biological” monitoring is less defined

7. Who Are We? WBEA Founded 1997 Multi-stakeholder (27 members)
Independent, objective, not-for-profit
Board, Governance Committee for oversight
3 Committees (Air, Terrestrial, Human Exposure)
Executive Director, staff
Industry-funded
Fort McMurray

8. What We Do WBEA does: WBEA does not:
Science-based environmental monitoring of air and land
Some “small r” process study in support of monitoring
Core long-term forest health monitoring, early warning, cause-effect linkage
Reporting
Reports to committees
Peer-reviewed publications
Beginning 2010 “getting the word out: on perceived versus real facts on air quality and ecosystem health
WBEA does not:
Do Research

9. WBEA operates 15 air monitoring stations
Continuous measurements (SO2, NOx, NO2, NH3, TRS, H2S, O3, CO)
Semi-continuous measurements (PM10, PM2.5, VOC, PAH, precip.)
Passive measurements (SO2, NO2, O3, HNO3, NH3, H2S)
Passive monitoring at 20 forested remote sites (SO2, NO2, O3, HNO3, NH3)

10. Air quality generally very good for criteria pollutants
In 2008, the one hour Alberta ambient air quality objectives for SO2 and NO2 were exceeded for only 5 hours total. Exceedances occurred at industry stations only.
90th percentiles for each pollutant were higher at industry than community stations
Source: WBEA (2009)

11. Increase in nuisance odors in two communities
In the case of reduced sulfur compounds, annual average concentrations in red at 4 industry stations declined between 2000and 2005, then increased yearly to 2008
Concentrations in green at 3 community stations where reduced sulfurs have been measured peaked in 2003, declined in 2004 and have remained little changed through 2008
Source: WBEA (2009)

12. Passive Monitoring to estimate regional exposure
WBEA currently operates an extensive regional network of 35 passive monitoring stations
Some XX of these are located at wetland or forested aspen/jack pine minitoring sites
To better interpret current data, and plan for the future, WBEA completed a geospatial analysis of data to determine areas where we had higher or lower confidence on the air concentrations measured
The uncertainty analysis showed two areas circled in red on the left hand pane where confidence in amonia values was lowest
Accordingly, these two locations are being instrumented with passive towers this October

13. CWS and U.S. NAAQS for ozone
T. Dann, EC-NAPS

14. Mean PM 2.5 Concentrations (µg m-³) 2004 -2006.
Source: Environment/Health Canada (2010). Canadian 2008 Smog Science Assessment (in press)

15. Effects-based Environmental Monitoring: The WBEA TEEM program
Effects Monitoring
Model Evaluation
Deposition Monitoring
Frameworks And Reporting
Informed Decision Making
Percy, Maynard, Legge 2010

16. INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT
SOURCE
Emissions
characterization, apportionment
Transformation
photochemical reactions, aerosol chemistry
dry, wet, bulk
Deposition
Transfer to terrestrial
Deposition velocities, bulk deposition
Effects on Individuals
foliar, tree, mosses, lichens, soil biology
Effects on Assemblages
Stand, bog composition, condition, growth
Biogeochemistry
N, S, H2O
Bioaccumulation
traditional food quality
days years decades
Structure and Function
OM cycle, fine roots, insects, climate, NPP
Water (ground, wetlands)
SINK

17. Oil Sands from 38,000 ft
(A. Legge 2007)

18. The Challenge!
Boreal Plains Ecozone
Plots 150 km+ from McMurray

19. Rewarding and Surprising!
Locals selling stuff
EPA dudes