2020-2021 Annual activity report
Memorandum of understanding between: Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board and Fisheries and Oceans Canada
July 2021
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Context
The Memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Newfoundland and Labrador Region (updated July 2020) supports and promotes the effective coordination and planning of activities of mutual interest of the C-NLOPB and DFO with respect to each agency's regulatory oversight in the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area. The executive committee is the principal body responsible for advancing the objectives of the MOU. The committee consists of the chief executive officer of the board and the regional director-general of DFO Newfoundland and Labrador Region. The executive committee will oversee advancement of the MOU on behalf of both parties and approve each year the annual activity report and the annual work plan developed by the implementation committee. The implementation committee consists of staff representing the C-NLOPB and DFO.
This 2020-2021 annual activity report describes the areas of collaboration during fiscal year 2020-2021. It summarizes the progress on activities and deliverables identified in the 2020-2021 work plan. The 2020-2021 work plan identified 9 work streams containing activities and deliverables that both parties agreed to work together on. The majority of these activities are ongoing in nature in that they are conducted each year and have become a part of each organization's standard operating procedure. Other activities, such as environmental effects monitoring, are multi-year year in nature and can be ongoing for several years. Additional information has been added to the status updates where key milestones or deliverables have been met/completed, or activities were deferred.
Highlights
It is important to note that during 2020-2021, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted both organizations and, as a result, some activities did not occur, were delayed, or were deferred. Nevertheless, important and critical work continued and most activities continued as outlined in Table 1. Highlights from 2020-2021 include:
- MOU updated to reflect the Impact Assessment Act, regional assessments, and other effective area-based conservation measures.
- Continued progress on the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) update for Labrador Shelf offshore area.
- DFO Science publication - "An Assessment of the Potential Risks of Seismic Surveys to Affect Snow Crab Resources".
- Participation in the program follow-up of the regional assessment of offshore oil and gas exploratory drilling east of Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Decisions statements completed for the following 3 drilling projects:
- Equinor Flemish Pass
- ExxonMobil Eastern Newfoundland
- CNOOC Flemish Pass
Initiative | Lead(s) | Activities/Deliverables | Status as of March 31, 2021 |
---|---|---|---|
1. Joint priority setting, planning and coordination | C-NLOPB DFO – Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Plan (FFHPP) |
|
Operational |
|
Complete | ||
|
Complete | ||
|
Operational | ||
|
Complete | ||
|
Operational | ||
|
Complete | ||
2. Environmental assessment (EA) | C-NLOPB DFO – FFHPP |
|
Ongoing |
|
Complete * Withdrawn – Nov. 17, 2020 **Comments on the amendment, including DFO comments, provided to the operator on March 25, 2020. |
||
|
Complete | ||
|
Ongoing | ||
|
Ongoing | ||
|
Ongoing | ||
3. Environmental effects monitoring (EEM) |
C-NLOPB DFO - FFHPP |
|
Ongoing |
|
Ongoing *Final Hebron 2018 EEM Program report accepted by CNLOPB in March 2021. DFO review included in consolidated comments provided to HMDC and Husky. |
||
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Ongoing Hebron 2019 EEM Report submitted to the C-NLOPB in March 2021. 2020 EEM Program Reports to be submitted in 2021/22 |
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4. Regulatory activities | C-NLOPB DFO – FFHPP |
|
Operational |
|
Ongoing | ||
|
Ongoing | ||
|
Operational Three exploration drilling projects complete – see highlights |
||
|
Operational | ||
|
Ongoing Note: No consultation or listing decisions made in 2020-2021 |
||
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Ongoing The C-NLOPB received reports from Equinor and ExxonMobil during the reporting period. The ExxonMobil report has been accepted and the Equinor report is still being finalized. |
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Ongoing Reports and raw observer data received for MKI's summer 2020 Torngat, Blomidon and South Banks 3D seismic surveys. |
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5. Science | C-NLOPB DFO – Science |
|
Ongoing |
|
Complete | ||
|
Complete | ||
|
Complete | ||
|
Operational | ||
6. Marine planning and conservation (MPC) | C-NLOPB DFO – MPC |
|
Operational |
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Ongoing | ||
|
Ongoing | ||
|
Operational | ||
|
Ongoing | ||
|
Ongoing | ||
|
Ongoing | ||
7. Fisheries management | C-NLOPB DFO – Fisheries management |
|
Operational |
|
Operational | ||
|
Operational | ||
|
Operational | ||
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Ongoing | ||
|
Deferred due to COVID-19 |
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8. Policy and economics | C-NLOPB DFO – Policy and economics |
|
Operational |
|
Operational | ||
|
Operational | ||
9. Reporting on Progress | C-NLOPB DFO – FFHPP |
|
Complete |
|
Complete | ||
|
Complete |
10. Abbreviation index
- CEAA 2012:
- Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012
- CIOPS:
- Coastal Ice Ocean Prediction System
- C-NLCOM:
- Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Committee on Oceans Management
- C-NLOPB:
- Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board
- CSAS:
- Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat
- DFO:
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- EA:
- Environmental Assessments
- EEM:
- Environmental Effects Monitoring
- ESRF:
- Environmental Studies Research Fund
- HMDC:
- Hibernia Management and Development Company
- IAAC:
- Impact Assessment Agency of Canada
- FFHPP:
- Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Plan
- MOU:
- Memorandum of Understanding
- M&O:
- Monitoring and Occurrences
- MPC:
- Marine Planning and Conservation
- MPRI:
- Multi-partner Oil Spill Response Research Initiative
- MSP:
- Marine Spatial Planning
- NAFO:
- Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization
- NRA:
- NAFO Regulatory Area
- NEEC:
- National Environmental Emergency Centre
- OECM:
- Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measure
- PERD:
- Program of Energy Research and Development
- ROCOM:
- Regional Oversight Committee on Oceans Management
- SARA:
- Species at Risk Act
- SEA:
- Strategic Environmental Assessment
- SIMA:
- Spill Impact Mitigation Assessment
- SOCP:
- Statement of Canadian Practice
- VMS:
- Vessel Monitoring System
- WRP:
- Wildlife Emergency Response Plan
Status Explanation:
- Complete – Work has been conducted within the fiscal year being reported and will not be continued in the next fiscal year (work has been completed).
- Ongoing – Work has been conducted within the fiscal year being reported and will continue in the following year where the activity has not been completed.
- Operational – Incorporated into the day-to-day activities of C-NLOPB and DFO.
- Deferred – Work was not conducted during the fiscal year being reported but will resume in the next fiscal year.
- Cancelled – Work was not conducted during the fiscal year being reported and will not continue in the next fiscal year.
11. Approval
The undersigned approve the Annual activities report 2020-2021 as per the "Memorandum of understanding between the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board and Fisheries and Oceans Canada" :
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Jacqueline Perry
Regional Director General, Newfoundland and Labrador Region
July 27, 2021
Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board
Scott Tessier
Chief Executive Officer
October 5, 2021
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