The Newfoundland and Labrador Oil & Gas Industries Association (Noia) has called on the Canadian Government to streamline its environmental assessment processes as they are critical to offshore development.
Noia has also urged the federal government to appoint the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) as the responsible authority (RA) for these assessments, as well as eliminate duplication in the new legislation.
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Noia CEO Charlene Johnson said: “The C-NLOPB’s excellent track record proves it has the expertise and experience required to conduct these assessments and should be designated RA, as it was previously.
“Located in close physical proximity to our offshore operations, they know the industry, have hands-on experience in the province’s harsh offshore environment and are best-placed to take the lead role in environmental assessments.”
Currently, the C-NLOPB uses environmental firms to conduct strategic environmental assessments (SEAs).
Johnson further added: “Having CEAA duplicate this work would only add unnecessary time to an already thorough process performed by experts located right here in our province and closest to the resource.”
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By GlobalDataNoting that duplication related to exploration wells should also be avoided, Noia suggested that the C-NLOPB should be the responsible authority for this.
Furthermore, the industry body contended that exploration drilling programmes that are adjacent to or overlapping each other should be subjected to a single environmental assessment to avoid duplication.
