Bulletin – Temporary Diversion Licences
The AER announced restrictions on water withdrawals for current temporary diversion licences (“TDL”) due to dry weather and low flow conditions in Alberta. The AER also encouraged oil and gas operators to voluntarily reduce consumption in areas with no mandatory restrictions.
The restrictions come after Alberta Environment and Parks issued a low flow advisory in the Upper Athabasca River basin. The Bulletin extends the restrictions on TDLs to the following watercourses, with the following additional restrictions
(a) Battle River basin;
(b) South Saskatchewan River basin – all TDLs have been suspended in some sub-basins;
(c) Milk River basin;
(d) Peace River basin – all TDLs have been suspended in some sub-basins; and
(e) North Saskatchewan River basin – TDLs are in the process of being suspended in some sub-basins.
The Bulletin advises that no new TDL applications are being accepted for the watercourses listed above. The restrictions will be lifted when river flows return to acceptable levels.
