The Public, The Energy Industry And The ERCB
Authors: Millard Vernon 
Published: March 2010

This article is a condensation of a May 1984 speech by Vern Millard of the Energy Resources Conservation Board to the Petroleum Society of CIM, entitled "The ERCB during the 1980s".

New Legislation Affects Role

In 1971, the Alberta government enacted new legislation which broadened the responsibilities of the ERCB to include in addition to the historical oil and gas-coal, hydro and electric energy, and pipelines. The Board's overall responsibilities remained as before, including ensuring economic and orderly development of provincial energy resources, evaluation of those resources, assessment of national and international markets, ensuring pollution control in resource development, ensuring safe and efficient practices, publishing information regarding the resources, and providing related advice to government. However, the new legislation brought with it administrative developments which often had greater impact on the public than those which previously had the Board's full attention.

Section 29 of the Energy Resources Conservation Act, makes it readily apparent that public involvement is not a whim of the ERCB. It is written into the legislation!

Change Came Quickly

nder the new legislation, the Board soon found that it had entered the second stage in its evolution. It had moved from an organization that was primarily devoted to dealing with technical oil and gas issues, and adjudicating between representatives of that industry (which, of course, the Board still continues to do), to an organization that also had to consider developments where the interests of the public, or part of the public, could be substantially affected and were major factors in adjudicating the matter.

How Much Involvement?

There are many and varied perceptions-within industry and government-of the degree to which the public has become a factor in ERCB hearings, decisions and policies. The problem with perceptions, however, is that they frequently bear little resemblance to reality.

Frequently heard comments at industry meetings, and in the media, seem to suggest that a growing number of industry executives believe that the public now has a major-perhaps even an inordinate-impact on the Board's decision-making process. For example, a senior industry representative recently was quoted as saying he thought the ERCB's technical review function was being superseded by the Board's need to consult with the public. This is not borne out by the facts!

First of all it is important, indeed vital, for everyone to recognize that the ERCB hearing process evolves out of the legislation and not at the whim of the ERCB. Section 29 of the Energy Resources Conservation Act (requires the Board to take certain actions. If the Board fails to comply with those requirements its actions may be referred to the courts. The Board's concerns respecting impacts on the public thus spring strongly from the legislation.

For example, in the event an oil company and a farmer cannot agree on the location of a proposed well, the Board has a legal obligation to provide the landowner with rights of prior notice, the right to question and to present argument, even though there may be no significant social or environmental impacts in the project.