Section 3 – Public Consultation

Grizzly Thickwood Thermal Project

Section 3 – Public Consultation

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

3. 

PUBLIC CONSULTATION ............................................................................................. 3-1  3.1  PROJECT DESCRIPTION.......................................................................................... 3-1  3.2  PROJECT SCHEDULE ............................................................................................... 3-1  3.3  STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ............................................................................ 3-1  3.4  ABORIGINAL CONSULTATION ............................................................................. 3-2  3.5  COMMUNITY-BASED CONSULTATION .............................................................. 3-2  3.6  STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION ....................................................................... 3-3  3.7  ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC NOTICE .................................................................. 3-4  3.8  ONGOING CONSULTATION ................................................................................... 3-4 

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3.

Section 3 – Public Consultation

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

The following section on Public Consultation describes the policies and practices that will guide Grizzly Oil Sands ULC (Grizzly) and its associated consultants in their consultation efforts with stakeholders and communities potentially affected by the Grizzly Thickwood Thermal Project.

3.1

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Grizzly’s Thickwood lease area comprises of approximately 60 sections of land or 38,400 acres. The leases are located in Townships 89 to 91, Ranges 14 to 16, W4M. In 2008, Grizzly began exploration on the leases with a five well exploration program. Grizzly returned to the area in the winter of 2010 drilling 32 core holes and again in 2011drilling 22 core holes. Grizzly also acquired 31 km of high quality 2D seismic over the project area in 2011. Grizzly’s Thickwood Project will be located approximately 58 kilometres northwest of Fort McMurray in Township 90, Range 15, W4M. The bitumen will be recovered from the Wabiskaw sands located approximately 155 to 190 metres below the surface. The project is located near the Southern Pacific - STP McKay Project and the McKay Operating Corporation McKay River Project. The project consists of two extraction methods, steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) and cyclic steam stimulation (CSS). The SAGD portion of the project will have an estimated lifespan of 15 to 20 years and consist of four well pads (split pads) with 46 well pairs, plus associated roads and pipelines. Expected peak production from the SAGD wells is 950 m3/day (6,000bpd) of bitumen. The CSS portion of the project will be developed in a phased approach starting with several demonstration wells. The next phase of CSS will include eight pads comprising of 96 wells to produce an additional 950 m3/day (6,000 bpd) of bitumen. The CSS portion of the project will have an estimated lifespan of 35 to 40 years. More information on the proposed Project can be found in the Plain Language Project Information brochure developed for Consultation which has been provided in Appendix 2.

3.2

PROJECT SCHEDULE

Pending approval, offsite engineering and long lead equipment purchase will start in in the third quarter of 2014. Site construction is planned to begin in the first quarter of 2016 and will continue until the plant is commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2016. The development schedule for the project is provided in Figure 1.8.1.

3.3

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

Grizzly will work to reduce the effects of the Thickwood Thermal Project on the environment and adjacent communities. Grizzly believes in working closely with local residents and other stakeholders to ensure they understand the Project and that Grizzly understands their needs and potential Project effects. Grizzly also recognizes the importance of building and maintaining productive relationships with communities. Timely and meaningful dialogue with potentially affected and interested community members is integral to Grizzly’s Engagement Plans. The

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collaborative methods through which Grizzly conducts engagement depend on the needs and requests of the local community and Grizzly’s business objectives. Grizzly’s primary goal is to involve stakeholders in a transparent and meaningful way in decisions that affect them. The engagement plan is not designed to be fully prescriptive; rather, it is intended to provide guiding principles and practices for Grizzly, while still allowing for flexibility and individual community input. Consultation will be designed to assess the potential impact of the project on various stakeholders and to identify plans to address these potential impacts. This engagement will also be used in order to satisfy the consultation requirement for the issuance of all surface dispositions needed for this project.

3.4

ABORIGINAL CONSULTATION

Grizzly is familiar with the unique circumstances that Aboriginal communities (including First Nations and Métis groups) and their leadership face in northeastern Alberta, and recognizes them as unique communities with special Treaty and constitutionally protected rights. For the Project, Grizzly will work in collaboration with the consultation bodies of the Aboriginal groups to undertake reasonable consultation requests and steps. Grizzly will make all reasonable efforts to remain flexible throughout the process. Grizzly is committed to complying with the regulatory and legal requirements regarding consultation for the Project (The Government of Alberta’s First Nations Consultation Guidelines on Land Management and Resource Development (Government of Alberta 2006, Updated November 2007)). Grizzly will rely on the following sources as guidance on consultation requirements and best practices: • • •

Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board: Energy Development Applications and Schedules; Canadian court decisions regarding Aboriginal consultation; and Aboriginal community consultation protocols, when available and where appropriate.

Grizzly is in the process of developing a Consultation Plan using these guidelines, in conjunction with Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD). This plan will serve as the foundation for Grizzly’s consultation.

3.5

COMMUNITY-BASED CONSULTATION

Many of the Aboriginal communities potentially affected by the Project have established their own internal consultation processes. Fort McKay First Nation (Fort McKay) has a Sustainable Development Department that coordinates consultation on behalf of both the First Nation and Fort McKay Métis Local #63, the Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN), the Bigstone Cree Nation (BCN), and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) all have a Government and Industry Relations Department. Fort McMurray Métis Local #1935 coordinates their own respective engagement. Grizzly acknowledges and will attempt to work with community consultation processes, protocols and fee structures where reasonable. Grizzly’s stakeholder engagement approach recognizes that not all stakeholders require the same level (or intensity) of information, November 2012

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contact and consultation for the Project. To reach a broad range of stakeholders, Grizzly will place public notices in local papers to notify potential stakeholders about ongoing consultation and participation in the assessment and Project planning process. Grizzly’s stakeholder consultation regarding the Project will involve meaningful, two-way communication so that potentially affected local people and communities remain informed about the Project in an open, easily understood and timely manner. Reasonable steps for consideration and resolution of the issues and concerns raised by stakeholders, and a reasonable process for reporting back to these stakeholders, will be undertaken for this Project. Stakeholder input will be formally documented, considered and integrated into the Project planning process as appropriate.

3.6

STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION

To conduct the consultation, stakeholders potentially affected by the Project have been identified by Grizzly, and in the case of First Nations, by the Province of Alberta. The various groups and organizations that Grizzly will engage through direct consultation or notification as potentially having an interest in the Project are listed below. Aboriginal Communities • • • •

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation; Bigstone Cree First Nation; Fort McKay First Nation; and Mikisew Cree First Nation.

Metis Communities • • • •

Fort McKay Métis #63; Local 1935 Fort McMurray; Metis Nation of Alberta, Region 1; and Metis Nation of Alberta.

Other Stakeholders • •

Non-Aboriginal trappers; and Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc.

Government Stakeholders • • • •

Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (Fort McMurray Office and Edmonton Office); Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo; Alberta Infrastructure; and Alberta Transportation.

Industry Stakeholders •

Athabasca Oil Corporation;

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McKay Operating Corp.; Perpetual Energy Inc.; Southern Pacific Resource Corp.; Stone Petroleum Ltd.; and Suncor Energy and Gas Partnership.

ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC NOTICE

In addition to direct contact with stakeholders, Grizzly will use local media to advertise its public documents. The list of local media will be identified as part of the Consultation Plan developed in conjunction with AESRD. Grizzly will also use its web page (www.grizzlyoilsands.com ) to make all public documents available. Those documents will be placed on the web page as part of the Consultation Plan.

3.8

ONGOING CONSULTATION

Grizzly is committed to public consultation through the regulatory review process and throughout the life of the project. Once Project approvals have been received Grizzly will provide information to stakeholders through its corporate website (www.grizzlyoilsands.com) and through regularly scheduled meetings with stakeholders.

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