Public hearings into the proposed Shell Jackpine oilsands mine expansion are well underway in Fort McMurray, with the Oil Sands Environmental Coalition (OSEC) presenting evidence to the panel this week in support of their arguments that the mine is against public interest.
OSEC is an environmental coalition made up of the Pembina Institute, the Alberta Wilderness Association and the Fort McMurray Environmental Association. OSEC will be represented by Ecojustice, who seeks to prove with the aid of experts that the expansion will cause a number of environmental problems, including the loss or alteration of wetlands, a significant increase in greenhouse gas pollution, and nitrogen dioxide emissions in excess of the air quality limits in Alberta's new Lower Athabasca Regional Plan.
Full details about the public hearing process, including the written submissions of the parties, can be found on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency website.
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