From Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press, September 20, 2010 – 7:28 p.m.
CALGARY – Alberta’s energy watchdog has given Shell Canada some leeway in approving the company’s plans to deal with waste from its Muskeg River oilsands mine.
The Energy Resources Conservation Board acknowledges a consolidated tailings plant Shell plans to build will not be up and running until 2012.
“Until the new tailings plant is operational, Shell will not be able to achieve the ERCBs annual fine tailings reduction requirements,” the board said.
However, from 2013 onwards, the ERCB has directed Shell to exceed the annual fine tailings reduction requirements in order to achieve a cumulative overall fine tailings reduction that is equal to or exceeds requirements by no later than the end of 2017.
Last year, the ERCB issued Directive 74, which ordered oilsands miners to clean up their tailings ponds, and submit plans outlining how they intend to achieve that.
The ERCB approved plans from Syncrude Canada Ltd. (TSX:COS, TSX:NXY) and Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSX:IMO) with similar caveats to Shells. It also conditionally approved a plan by the Fort Hills partnership (TSX:TCK.B).
A tailings plan submitted by Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) was the only one to fully meet Directive 74.
Shell welcomed the decision and said it would review the conditions attached to the approval.
“It remains Shell’s intent to meet the requirements of D74 and company officials will be working closely with the ERCB in responding to the conditions attached to the approval,” company spokesman Ed Greenberg said.
Environmentalists have criticized the ERCB for approving plans that don’t meet its own guidelines.
The ERCB is still weighing another submission from Shell for its Jackpine mine, as well as one from Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ) for its Horizon project.
Tailings a mixture of sand, clay, water and residual bitumen are a byproduct of the oilsands extraction process and have drawn a great deal of concern for their environmental impacts. Two years ago, 1,600 birds died after landing on an enormous tailings pond at Syncrude Canada Ltd.’s mining site.
Alberta’s energy regulator estimates tailings ponds today contain about 840 million cubic metres of fluid and cover about 170 square kilometres across northern Alberta.
Left to their own devices, fine clay particles in tailings ponds can take decades to settle, but companies are working on ways to drastically speed up that process.
Shell has begun a commercial demonstration of a technology called atmospheric fine drying that uses a thickening agent which is added to the tailings. After that, they are laid out to dry on a slope, and the remaining water is recycled back into its operations.
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
