On December 10, 2012, the Responsible Energy Development Act (“REDA”) received royal assent. Under REDA, the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board and certain regulatory functions of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development will be replaced with a new single provincial regulator for all oil, gas, oil sands and coal projects in the province of Alberta. The new Alberta Energy Regulator will have expanded powers, including the consideration of permitting under the provincial Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, the Water Act and the Public Lands Act. REDA has implications that potentially affect all oil, gas, oil sands and coal projects in Alberta currently under development and planned for the future. For an overview of REDA’s changes, please see our earlier Energy Law Bulletin.
With royal assent, the Alberta government may now appoint a transition committee to be responsible for directing and overseeing the orderly transition from the Energy Resources Conservation Act to REDA. The transition committee will also be responsible for ensuring the full operation of the new Alberta Energy Regulator once the remainder of REDA comes into force, anticipated to be in June of 2013.
With REDA receiving royal assent, the Alberta government may now turn its attention to drafting regulations that will provide additional detail to the framework established by REDA, including details respecting the administration of applications, hearings and those proceedings that will not have been completed at the time REDA comes into force.
We will provide further updates when the regulations under REDA are released.
- General Counsel
John is Lawson Lundell’s General Counsel and a member of the firm’s management team.
In addition, as Senior Counsel John is a member of the firm’s Indigenous, Environmental, and Project Development practice groups. His ...
About Us
Lawson Lundell's Environmental, Indigenous and Natural Resources Blog focuses on environmental, indigenous and natural resources law, as well as related litigation. Included are summaries of significant cases from Canadian appellate courts, changes in the legal framework governing resource development including energy and climate change policy, and key decisions from the more influential regulatory bodies in Canada.
Legal Disclaimer: The information made available on this webpage is for information purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on as such. Please contact our firm if you need legal advice or have questions about the content of this webpage.