The Sundre Petroleum Operators Group (SPOG) has outlined some of its plans for the new year, including a spring mutual aid exercise and an education session about flaring at an environment committee Learn at Supper event in April, says executive director Tracey McCrimmon.
SPOG is a non-profit organization made up of a number of oil and gas companies with operations in West Central Alberta. It promotes awareness of oilfield issues through newsletters, open houses and other activities.
SPOG officials recently held a meeting to discuss plans for 2013.
"Certainly those plans include our ability to participate in whatever pipeline review the province does in light of the Plains incident,î said McCrimmon.
Hundreds of thousands of litres of sour crude oil spilled from a Plains Midstream pipeline into the Red Deer River downstream of Sundre in June 2012.
There are three "working groupsî within SPOG, representing mutual aid, environment and community affairs. All three groups expect to be active in 2013, she said.
In the new year SPOG will finish its multi-stage hydraulic fraction proactive engagement process, aimed at formulating a non-binding best practices document for fracking in the region, she said.
Open houses were held in 2012 to gather public input as part of that engagement process.
The mutual aid group will be working on an updated emergency response protocol, which outlines response procedures that member companies follow when an incident is called into SPOG's 24-hour emergency line (1-800-567-0818).
She explained that there will be a mutual aid exercise held in the Sundre area sometime in May or June.
Theme of the 16th annual Neighbours Day in September 2013 will be ëMy Backyard'.
Neighbours Day is an annual community event held to share information about oil and gas activities with residents in the SPOG area.
