The History of Alberta Air Management Systems

Dust, Smoke and Sour Gas The First 65 years of Air Quality Management in the Alberta Government 1945-2010 ii Dust, Smoke, and Sour Gas: The First 65 years of Air Quality Management in the Alberta Government, 1945-2010 By Randolph P. Angle Retired 36-year veteran of Alberta Environment October 2016 iii Dust, Smoke, and Sour Gas: The First 65 years of Air Quality Management in the Alberta Government, 1945-2010 by Randolph P. Angle. Copyright © 2016 by Randolph P. Angle. All rights reserved. ISBN No. (pdf) 978-0-9953357-0-7 Except as permitted under the Canadian Copyright Act, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author (email: [email protected]). While the author has used best efforts in preparing this book, no representations or guarantees can be provided with respect to the completeness or accuracy of the content. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation. iv Preface History is a means to understand both the past and present. Through history we interpret why things developed as they did and learn what influences may shape the future. The analysis and interpretation of history provides an essential context for evaluating contemporary approaches. History also provides a sense of identity and shared heritage. George Santayana (1863-1952), Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist is often quoted or paraphrased in asserting that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Much earlier Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Anglo-Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher had expressed the same sentiment: “Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.” As organizations adapt to a rapidly changing world, the importance of organizational history is often forgotten.1 An understanding of an organization’s history is important because static, “present-only” views of organizations seldom full explain why an organization succeeded or failed, and why it currently behaves the way it does. Choices made during an organization’s developmental stages get reinforced and stabilized to form the organization’s deep structure, activity patterns, and “mythology.” History shapes culture and responses to change. The world is prone to “fads”; what many may see as a “new” idea may actually be an old idea recycled in different terminology. This document strives to capture the history of air quality management in the Government of Alberta. It provides a corporate memory of past initiatives and issues. It describes the foundations of the management system, identifies significant events, and recognizes the contributions of various individuals. Documentation is cited wherever available. When none could be found, the author has relied on his own files, notes and recollections supplemented by those of other air quality retirees. Many changes would lend themselves to more detailed analysis of causes, contributing factors, and ultimate outcomes. This has been left for others to pursue. On a broader scale, the history of air quality management in Canada as a nation of provinces and a federal government is recounted in a recent book 2 published by Springer. 1 Prywes, Yaron (2011) Organization History (OHx) Making the Construct Explicit in Organization Change Literature. OD Practitioner 43 (2): 40-45 2 Taylor, Eric and Ann McMillan, eds (2013) Air Quality Management: Canadian Perspectives on a Global Issue. Springer, 406 pp v Acknowledgements The concept of an Alberta air management history originated with Chow Seng Liu in 2000 while he was with the Air and Water Pollution Control Program of Alberta Environment. Chow Seng arranged a meeting with some of the pioneers in the Department of Environment and collected some of the early legislative materials. This prompted the author to begin collecting historical materials. The publication 3 of The Last Stack , the history of the first environmental consulting firm in Alberta, also stimulated interest in the history of air management in Alberta. When Knowledge Management emerged briefly as a corporate priority, in 2005/2006 the Systems Development Branch of Alberta Environment was able to assign a student intern, Jennifer Martin, to the task of organizing the collection. Under the supervision of Dr. Raymond Wong, she produced a spreadsheet of dates and events, together with a covering narrative. Her work and report provided the starting point for this history. The author retired from Alberta Environment in 2009, but was not able to work on the history until 2013. The Alberta Government Library, having absorbed the holdings of the old Alberta Environment Library, proved to be a valuable resource, with at least one copy of documents not already in the author’s collection. Additional information and input has been provided by a number of retired Alberta Environment employees: Jerry Lack, Al Schulz, John Torneby, Chow Seng Liu, Ray Brassard, and Harry Benders. Bill Calder reviewed the penultimate draft and made a number of valuable suggestions. Special thanks go to Randy Dobko of the Air Policy Branch, Alberta Environment and Parks, for his numerous contributions to this history. His personal document collection filled important gaps, his memory enabled a fuller account of source standards, and his careful review caught a number of mistakes in earlier drafts. 3 Stenson, Fred (2000) The Last Stack: Entrepreneurism and the Environment. CETAC-WEST, Calgary, AB. 367 pp vi Contents Preface .......................................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... vi Figures .......................................................................................................................................................... ix Tables ............................................................................................................................................................ x Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Legislation ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 The Public Health Act ................................................................................................................................ 3 The Department of Environment Act ....................................................................................................... 6 The Clean Air Act ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Regulations under the Clean Air Act ................................................................................................... 10 The Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act ........................................................................... 13 Environment Conservation Act ............................................................................................................... 15 The Alberta Environmental Research Trust Act ...................................................................................... 16 The Energy Resources Conservation Act ................................................................................................ 16 Summary of Legislation ........................................................................................................................... 17 General Approach ....................................................................................................................................... 19 Policies and Programs ............................................................................................................................. 19 Principles and Strategies ..................................................................................................................... 19 Compliance Assurance ........................................................................................................................ 29 Recognition of Good Performance ..................................................................................................... 32 Geographical Solutions ....................................................................................................................... 33 Stakeholder Relations ............................................................................................................................. 35 Organization for Air Quality Management ............................................................................................. 38 Intergovernmental Cooperation ............................................................................................................. 43 Summary of General Approach ............................................................................................................... 46 Sources and Emissions ................................................................................................................................ 47 Source Performance Standards .............................................................................................................

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