120-day approval timeline on major projects introduced in Alberta bill

The Alberta government says Bill 30 would give regulators 120 days to approve or reject major energy, mining and industrial projects.

The Alberta government has tabled a bill which would require major energy, mining and industrial projects to be approved within a 120-day timeframe to reduce bureaucratic delays on the road to boosting production.

Bill 30, the Expedited 120-Day Approvals Act, is a way to meet Alberta’s goal of doubling oil and gas production by 2035 and stay competitive in the market, the province says.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, energy minister Brian Jean said the decision-making process for major projects would be the same as before, but fast-tracked, adding the regulatory process was currently “cumbersome and riddled with roadblocks and unnecessary delays.”

He said projects with the same criteria can currently take from months to years to approve, indicating there was no standardization to the timeframes in which plans are implemented.

“This is turning investors to other jurisdictions that offer more certainty and faster project approvals,” he said.

Jean said $12 billion in capital investments from Canadian-based energy companies has been lost to the U.S. in the past year.

“We have just come through, truly, a lost decade for investment because of over-regulation from a federal government that was hellbent on killing our industry,” he added.

If passed, the Alberta government would set up a Project Coordination Review Team within the already existing Executive Council to assess important project applications. That team would then make recommendations to a committee of deputy ministers, who would have 30 days to make a decision, Jean explained.

Once approved, cabinet would issue an order in council that then triggers a 120-day countdown for Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), which is responsible for final decisions on major energy projects.

Project applicants would first have to prove that an environmental impact assessment process and Indigenous consultation have gotten to an appropriate stage before a project can be expedited, a government release read.

“Ultimately, this process doesn’t affect Indigenous consultations at all, because that’s covered by the Supreme Court of Canada and the Constitution,” Jean added. “That’s got to be substantially completed before that process.”

Projects that qualify for the expedited approval process must align with the province’s priorities, be of strategic importance to Alberta’s economy, have a minimum capital investment of $250 million and “advance national and provincial security while respecting Alberta’s areas of jurisdiction and autonomy.”

The Alberta government says the legislation would also build on the Alberta-Ottawa memorandum of understanding on industrial carbon price hikes and a path toward building a new B.C. pipeline. Both parties had until April 1 to agree on fine details of the MOU but remained unresolved two weeks past the deadline.

“This is a long, complicated process,” Jean told reporters Tuesday. “It’s not going to be simple, and we’ve got two governments that come from a different direction trying to find a solution. I’m very optimistic … I’m looking forward to having that part of the negotiations finalized.”

Bill 30 had its first reading before legislature Tuesday afternoon.