Keepers of the Water slams environmental exemption for Suncor’s tailings release

By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News An Indigenous environmental organization focused on water protection is slamming the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) decision to exempt Suncor’s plan to release millions of tonnes of tar sands tailings into the Athabasca River from an environmental impact assessment. “This is why we need federal oversight,” Jesse Cardinal, executive director of Keepers of the Water, told Alberta Native News.