On August 6, 2013, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) approved
the Dover Commercial Project (Project), a 250,000 barrel per day
in situ oil sands project proposed by Brion Energy (a
joint venture between Athabasca Oil Corporation and PetroChina).
With a planned operating life of 65 years, the Project is one of
the largest oil sands projects ever proposed in Alberta and was the
first in situ oil sands project in a decade to require a
public hearing. The Project was vigorously opposed by the Fort
McKay First Nation (FMFN), who had not opposed a major oil sands
project in approximately 20 years and who requested a
no-development buffer around their reserves at Namur Lake. In
considering the Project, the AER relied on the Lower Athabasca
Regional Plan (LARP) and the fact that the Project was proposed to
be located outside any LARP protected area. The AER also considered
the amount of bitumen that would be sterilized if FMFN's buffer
were implemented. On the basis of these
