Liability for Contaminated Sites

Liability for Contaminated Sites in the Province of Alberta

Presented by Brad Gilmour (Bennett Jones LLP)

Date:              March 7, 2017

Time:              12:00  to 1:00 pm

Location:      Conference Room ‘A’, Husky Conference Centre, Calgary, AB,

                             Plus 30 level, 707-8th Avenue SW (take the escalator up two flights)

CCP:                 This course qualifies ASPB members to earn 1 Professional Development Hour

Cost:                Free. No charge for Members or Non-Members 

Webcast:       Presentation will also be available via webcast (Adobe Connect)  Link will be posted HERE (letters will appear blue when link is posted on the morning of event.)

Inquiries:       Please register to be emailed the link for the webinar.

                              For inquiries about the webcast, contact ASPB Office at [email protected]. 

                             For inquiries about the BBL,contact Karl Bresee

Summary:

The presentation will provide an overview of the liability for property owners and renters with contaminated sites in the Province of Alberta. It will touch on the aspects regarding responsibility of reporting to the authorities, the application of suitable guidelines (i.e., Provincial or Federal), legal ramifications associated with off–site impacts, and when and why an affected party might seek legal action. In addition, the overall burden of evidence will be described and common barriers to the transfer of ownership will be discussed. What management or legal vehicles to ensure long term indemnification for past contamination at a site (i.e., restrictive covenant, etc…). What are the types of legal or government documents and associated ramifications that absolve responsibility (e.g., remediation certificate or certificate of compliance) with a contaminated site.

Presenter biography:

Brad Gilmour is head of Bennett Jones' regulatory department and co-head of the environmental department. His practice focuses primarily on environmental, energy, regulatory and aboriginal law.

He has significant experience in facility approval applications associated with a broad range of energy, natural resource, chemical, petrochemical, hydro, oil sands, bio-fuel, wind and other industry types. Brad appears before the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board, the Alberta Energy Regulator (formerly, the Energy Resources Conservation Board), the Alberta Utilities Commission, the Natural Resources Conservation Board and the National Energy Board. Brad also regularly advises clients concerning regulatory compliance issues, spills, contaminated sites and environmental prosecutions.

Before entering the practice of law, he worked in Calgary as an environmental consultant conducting environmental liability assessments and site remediation programs.

Brad writes and speaks on topics concerning environmental and regulatory law. As well, he has taught courses on environmental law and occupational health and safety law for the University of Calgary, Athabasca University, and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

Brad is the past chair of the Canadian Prairie and Northern section of the Air and Waste Management Association and a past chair of the southern environmental section of the Canadian Bar Association.

The ASPB is not responsible for the content of this presentation; the information and views expressed by the presenter(s) are their own.