Appendix 139C.1 Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project Aboriginal Consultation Plan
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Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project ESRD and CEAA Responses Integrated Application Appendix 139c.1: Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project Supplemental Information Request, Round 2 Aboriginal Consultation Plan Appendix 139c.1 Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project Aboriginal Consultation Plan October 2013 ESRD and CEAA Responses Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project Appendix 139c.1: Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project Integrated Application Aboriginal Consultation Plan Supplemental Information Request, Round 2 October 2013 UTS Energy Corporation & Teck Cominco Limited Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project A BORIGINAL C ONSULTATION P LAN UTS Energy Corporation (UTS) and Teck Cominco Limited (Teck Cominco) are committed to ensuring appropriate consultation with potentially affected Aboriginal communities with respect to the application of the Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project (the Project). The Aboriginal consultation process is designed to be ongoing from initial planning through construction, operations, and decommissioning of the proposed Project. UTS & Teck Cominco have developed this consultation plan for a number of reasons. The Crown has determined that the Project triggers consultation. Therefore, the Alberta’s First Nation Consultation Guidelines on Land Management and Resource Development requirements must be met. The Project has the potential to impact areas traditionally used by Aboriginal communities for hunting, trapping, fishing, gathering and other culturally significant activities. Finally, UTS & Teck Cominco recognizes that several Aboriginal communities may be affected by the proposed Project and intends to develop long‐lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with those communities. Project Description The proposed Frontier Project consists of a mining and bitumen extraction and processing facility to be developed in phases. Phase 1 is currently planned to be located on UTS and Teck Cominco’s jointly owned Leases 311, 468, 470, 477 and 610 on the west side of the Athabasca River in Townships 010 and 101 Range 11. The proposed project mining area is approximately 10‐20 miles northwest of the Fort Hills Project location and is bordered to the south and east by Shell Canada’s proposed Pierre River Project. Initial production rate of Frontier is expected to be in the range of 100,000 – 160,000 barrels per day starting in 2015. Additional mining operations for expansion of the initial phase are being considered on Leases 513, 514, 610 and 840 depending on the results of further exploration. A detailed project description is attached in Appendix I, as well as a project information update brochure (March 2008). Goals and Objectives The objective of the UTS & Teck Cominco Consultation Plan is to ensure meaningful involvement for all Aboriginal communities potentially affected by the Project. Although Métis consultation requirements have yet to be clarified by the Government of Alberta, UTS has included potentially affected Métis communities in the consultation plan as a matter of best practice and desire to develop mutually beneficial relationships with all Aboriginal communities in the region. Effective consultation with Aboriginal communities is critical in building and maintaining working relationships, and requires involving Aboriginal communities in decisions that affect Aboriginal interests, rights, and traditional practices. The UTS & Teck Cominco consultation strategy will strive to integrate the current proposed Project and UTS/Teck Cominco Aboriginal Consultation Plan – Frontier Oil Sands Project Page 1 of 9 activities planned for the future. Specifically, UTS & Teck Cominco will utilize the following steps to guide the overall consultation process: 1. Provide sufficient information to potentially affected Aboriginal communities about the proposed Project in order to ensure adequate understanding of the Project. 2. Provide sufficient time for potentially affected Aboriginal communities to absorb and understand Project information. 3. Ensure careful documentation of issues and concerns voiced by potentially affected Aboriginal communities throughout the regulatory process. 4. Ensure meaningful consideration of those expressed issues and concerns in Project design and approval processes. Sufficient Information UTS & Teck Cominco will ensure plain‐language information about the Project will be specifically prepared for distribution to potentially affected Aboriginal communities and their members. Plain‐language material will utilize a non‐technical description of the proposed nature and scope of the Project, including all environmental, social and cultural information collected throughout the application process known to UTS & Teck Cominco. In addition, all potentially positive and negative effects of the Project known to UTS & Teck Cominco will be outlined to those communities in a clear and manageable format. Requests for additional information from the communities will be considered and responded to. Sufficient Time It is the intent of UTS & Teck Cominco to provide sufficient time for Aboriginal communities to consider and understand Project information. Consultation efforts will be identified and fully reported through the bi‐monthly reporting process to Alberta Environment (AENV). Project updates will commence prior to Project application filing and will continue beyond. Careful Documentation UTS & Teck Cominco will carefully document all contact with potentially affected Aboriginal communities and how members were involved in the consultation process. This will include names, dates, method of communication and any issues and concerns that were expressed in relation to the proposed Project. This record will be shared with the relevant community to ensure UTS & Teck Cominco “got it right” and accurately reflected the consultation efforts. UTS & Teck Cominco also understands that this record of consultation will be one of the mechanisms by which AENV and others involved in the regulatory process will measure the adequacy of the consultation process at the end of the day. Meaningful Consideration and Mitigation Strategies UTS & Teck Cominco are committed to meaningful consultation with those Aboriginal communities who are potentially affected by its proposed Project. Meaningful dialogue translates into responding to expressed issues and concerns related to the proposed Project through collaborative development of strategies designed to mitigate or avoid impacts to Traditional Rights and Uses. Issues and concerns will be community specific and will be responded to in that manner. There are a range of possible mitigation strategies that UTS & Teck Cominco, in collaboration with community representatives, can consider depending on the nature and scope of the specific community concern(s). These could fall under the following categories: Avoidance (e.g., site protection); UTS/Teck Cominco Aboriginal Consultation Plan – Frontier Oil Sands Project Page 2 of 9 Conservation and Reclamation strategies; Cultural preservation and retention initiatives; Capacity building; Community socio‐economic/environmental initiatives; Access Management; Environmental studies, etc. UTS & Teck Cominco will strive for agreement through ongoing discussions with those communities who have concerns; and when agreement is not possible, a thorough explanation to AENV of why agreement was not possible will be provided. Specific Consultation Tasks The Aboriginal consultation and engagement component of the Project will involve completion of the following tasks: Task 1: Comprehensive Identification of Potentially Affected Aboriginal Communities o UTS & Teck Cominco has identified potentially affected Aboriginal communities based on proximity of traditional lands to the Project area, and other Aboriginal communities and groups who have previously expressed concerns with oil sands development in the Fort McMurray area. Please see Appendix II for this list. o Identified Aboriginal communities have been further categorized based on proximity to the Project area and potential impact on Aboriginal Rights and Traditional Uses. Group #1 communities will receive the fullest extent of consultation efforts (including face‐to‐face meetings, telephone, email and open houses). Group #2 communities will receive direct notification and the opportunity for periodic meetings, if requested. Group #3 communities will receive all relevant Project information and information provided at public notification triggers. UTS & Teck Cominco will respond to requests for additional consultation efforts accordingly. Task 2: Develop Project Information o UTS & Teck Cominco have developed a Project Disclosure Document (PDD) describing key attributes of the UTS & Teck Cominco Project in culturally sensitive, non‐technical, plain‐ language format (Appendix I). o Plain language project information updates will be made available throughout the regulatory process, and as project information changes. Task 3: Initiate Contact with Group #1 Communities o UTS & Teck Cominco initiated requests for introductory meetings with Group #1 communities, commencing mid March 2008. Preferred community “next steps” for involvement in the consultation process (2008) will be identified. For example, discussions surrounding options for open houses or Elders meetings are currently underway. Task 4: Disseminate Project Information o Project information will be directly distributed in a variety of methods to all Aboriginal communities outlined in the Community Inclusion List (attached in Appendix II), including: • Hand‐delivery