AN EX-POST EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN ALBERTA: A CASE STUDY OF THE OLDMAN RIVER DAM

Abstract

Environmental impact assessment is one of the most visible and formal components of the decision-making process for development planning and resource management in Canada. This has led some researchers to recommend Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as the basis for a more integrated approach to the planning, management and control of resource development. However, this must be questioned as a result of the two major disputes over the adequacy of, and jurisdiction for, EIA in Canada which this paper proposes to study.The Oldman Dam was chosen for this case study as it provides an important and current example of how the growing public concern with the environment, coupled with an increasing awareness of EIA and willingness to intervene, has brought to a head the continuing debate over how well EIA has performed as an instrument of public policy.This paper involves the application of policy research methodology to study the environmental assessment process followed in the case of the Oldman Dam. The adequacy of the process in dealing with environmental issues and participation, and the resulting implications for resource management and development are of particular concern. This paper provides a description of the issues that led to the controversy surrounding the Oldman River Dam project (including the interjurisdictional disputes over the application of environmental assessment legislation), and addresses the questions of effectiveness, efficiency and fairness, three criteria which have been identified as key to successful EIA, surrounding the application of EIA to the project.The paper concludes with a discussion of how to improve the EIA process, and observations on challenges for the future.