Indigenous climate advocates say tailings spills study confirms what they already know – Alberta Native News

January 17, 2025

By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – A recently released scientific study on the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) poor monitoring of tailings spills merely confirms what Indigenous people have long known to be true, says the executive director of Indigenous Climate Action (ICA).

Sherwood Park-based geologist Kevin Timoney’s report, published in the peer-reviewed Environmental Monitoring and Assessment journal on Jan. 3, found that the AER has significantly underreported spill volumes and their environmental footprints, and that the regulator had conducted routine inspections in just 3.2 per cent of tailings spills.

“This report is just another addition to a bunch of glaring reports that have come out, get some media attention and disappear,” Eriel Deranger, ICA’s executive director, told Alberta Native News in an interview. “Business continues as usual in the sector and industry.”

Read More: https://www.albertanativenews.com/indigenous-climate-advocates-say-tailings-spills-study-confirms-what-they-already-know/