Cyberattack left company’s wildlife monitoring spreadsheet inaccessible at the time of the incident, says employer
Suncor Energy Inc. has been fined $5,000 by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) after protected bird nests were buried at its Alberta oilsands mine.
An AER investigation found that in June 2023, Suncor placed material over a bank near Fort McMurray used by bank swallows as a nesting site, likely resulting in the injury or death of the birds and the destruction of their nests, reported CBC.
“There is no direct evidence of destroyed nests or dead bank swallows,” Candace MacDonald, a director of field operations for the AER, wrote in her penalty decision against the operator, according to the report.
“However, the potential for the bank swallows to have become injured or killed and nests destroyed by the disturbance in these circumstances is highly probable.”
The company did not complete a required wildlife sweep before the bank was buried, and a 100-metre buffer zone around the nests, mandated under federal environmental law, was not maintained, according to the report.
Cyberattack
Suncor told the regulator that a cyberattack left its wildlife monitoring spreadsheet inaccessible at the time of the incident.
The company had set up a backup system, but investigators found that this, too, was unavailable due to information technology limitations.
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) determined that Suncor demonstrated a lack of due diligence, noting that the company should have exercised heightened awareness and diligence to ensure all workgroups were aware of the presence of the protected nests, despite the IT issues, according to the CBC report.
Bank swallows are listed as a threatened species under federal law and have been classified as sensitive by the Alberta government since 2015, noted CBC. The AER highlighted that wildlife sweeps before land disturbance are a critical safeguard for species such as the bank swallow. The regulator stated that, although Suncor had policies and procedures in place, these were not followed in this case.
Bank swallows are also protected as a migratory species under the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act.
The Alberta government has classified the species as sensitive since 2015, indicating a need for a “heightened awareness” around this species, according to the report.
“The requirement to conduct a wildlife sweep or walkthrough before conducting any land disturbance serves as a safeguard for wildlife, aiming to protect species such as bank swallows and preserve critical habitats such as their nests,” MacDonald wrote.
“Suncor ultimately failed to identify their error and take appropriate mitigative measures.”
According to CBC, Suncor has since updated its wildlife protection policies, including the introduction of a land disturbance checklist to ensure mandatory sweeps are completed before any potential bird habitat is disturbed. The administrative penalty was issued on June 26. Suncor has 30 days to file an appeal.
CBC News noted that Suncor did not respond to requests for comment on the penalty.
