Currently, companies seek approval for gas well developments from regulators through a process called Environmental Protection Plans (EPPs). EPPs address environmental concerns on a site by site basis largely to alleviate problems with the development stages of oil and gas production. A new EPP is prepared each time a company seeks approval for development of new or modified wells, flow lines, roads or compressor stations. The EPPs are repetitive for each set of development plans and never address the sum total of impacts on the environment. Accumulative effects of these developments are resulting in serious fragmentation of native habitat and redundancy of gas facilities and infrastructures. Little attention is paid to longer term operating impacts or eventual decommissioning. A method of combining available information into a pro-active plan designed to reduce accumulative impacts and cut overall costs to the gas company is needed.
ERIN Consulting, an environmental consulting company based in Regina, is using an interactive ecological approach to planning, using a combination of digital geographically referenced data bases and other locally collected information. Geographic Information Systems, (GIS), technology is used for analysis and public consultation and ground based data are coupled with a basic understanding of the ecological functions and processes of the local ecosystems to refine the information into an integrated plan which attempts to address all stake holders concerns.