Municipal regulation of oil and gas development.

• Author: Vlavianos, Nickie
• Position: FEATURE on municipal law

Unlike Saskatchewan where municipalities have often imposed their own rules for oil and gas development, municipalities in British Columbia and Alberta have generally deferred to provincial regulation. With increased development and a more engaged public, this may be changing. Recently, the Peace River Regional District in northeastern British Columbia passed a zoning bylaw restricting the scale of oil and gas operations on certain agricultural lands (Peace River Regional District Zoning By-law No. 1343, 2001).

An example of a proactive municipality in Alberta is Strathcona County, east of Edmonton. In 2003, the County formed a committee to develop recommendations on how to deal with oil and gas development. Although a bylaw was ultimately not passed, the committee developed a protocol that it wants Alberta's energy regulator, the Energy and Utilities Board (EUB), to implement. The protocol's purpose is to have oil and gas development occur with the least possible impact on the environment, health, safety, and quality of life of the County's residents. The protocol adds to provincial public notification and consultation requirements, and obliges all oil and gas operators to comply with "... the County's standards for emergency preparedness, land reclamation, environmental and habitat protection, no flaring policy, and restrictions on noise and light levels" (The Strathcona County Protocol for Seismic Surveying, Drilling, Construction and Operation of Oil and Gas Facilities in Strathcona County, 2004).

Because municipalities are creatures of provincial legislation, they can exercise only those powers given to them by the province. Consequently, municipal powers to regulate oil and gas activities vary from province to province. In Alberta, the relevant legislation is the Municipal Government Act (MGA). Most relevant in terms of oil and gas are the planning and development powers in Part 17 and the general bylaw-making powers in Part 2.

Part 17 of the MGA grants significant powers to Alberta municipalities to regulate land use and development within their borders. With respect to oil and gas development, however, two provisions notably limit municipal control. First, section 618 states that Part 17 of the Act and the regulations and bylaws under it do not apply when a development or subdivision is effected only for the purpose of an oil and gas well, battery or pipeline. Thus, a municipality's planning and development plans and bylaws do not...