In the past, industry and government independently conducted research and gathered information to address environmental issues. The results were not always mutually accepted.
A number of emerging environmental issues arose in the mid 1980’s that demanded mutual resolution. As a result, the Alberta Pipeline Environmental Steering Committee was established in 1988.
The Committee initially consisted of industry and government representatives. The membership has since been increased to include landowner representation, local government, federal interests and contractors.
The Committee has four main purposes:
1. To assist government, industry and other interest groups in their pursuit of environmental protection and economical pipeline planning, construction, operation, abandonment and reclamation in Alberta;
2. To act as a vehicle for government to receive input from industry and other interest groups during policy formation;
3. To identify, prioritize and make recommendations for workable solutions on Alberta pipeline environmental issues and;
4. To help implement recommendations by organizations represented on the Committee.
The benefits of this model are agreement on issue identification and mutual resolution. The success of the model has resulted in it being adopted for other sectors as well.
