Alberta's New Proposed Energy Legislation: Bill 2, Responsible Energy Development Act - Continued Debate

In our blog post of November 5, 2012, we discussed Alberta's new proposed energy legislation, Bill 2, The Responsible Energy Development Act (the "Bill"). The proposed legislation is designed to streamline the process for approving oil and gas projects by creating a single regulator (the "Alberta Energy Regulator"), but has drawn significant opposition from property rights activists and environmental groups. On November 21, 2012, the Alberta legislature endorsed amendments to the Bill. According to Energy Minister Ken Hughes, the amendments to the Bill strengthen landowners' rights by ensuring that the Alberta Energy Regulator adequately considers the interests of landowners in project applications in the following manner: (i) require the regulatory agency to give public notice for all project applications it receives; (ii) clarify the appeal mechanism for project approvals; and (iii) provide individuals who believe that they are directly and adversely impacted by an