Alberta's Industrial Heartland
Alberta's Industrial Heartland (also known as Upgrader Alley or the Heartland) is the largest industrial area in Western Canada and a joint land-use planning and development initiative between five municipalities in the Edmonton Capital Region to attract investment in the chemical, petrochemical, oil, and gas industries to the region.[1][non-primary source needed] It is "home to more than 40 petrochemical companies" and is one of Canada's largest petrochemical processing regions."[2] By July 2015 there was $13 billion invested in new industrial projects providing employment for 25,000 in the Alberta's Industrial Heartland.[3]
Geography[edit]
Alberta's Industrial Heartland (AIH) comprises 533 km2 (206 sq mi) of land split between the City of Fort Saskatchewan, Lamont County, Strathcona County, and Sturgeon County, as well as the 49 km2 (19 sq mi) Edmonton Energy and Technology Park in northeast Edmonton.[4][non-primary source needed] At a total size of 582 km2 (225 sq mi),[4] AIH is the largest geographic area in Canada dedicated to hydrocarbon processing.[1] The largest completed project to date is the Scotford Complex, which includes an upgrader, a refinery, and two railyards.[citation needed]
Membership[edit]
Alberta's Industrial Heartland Association (AIHA) was founded in 1998 by the City of Fort Saskatchewan, Lamont County, Strathcona County, and Sturgeon County.[5] The City of Edmonton became a member of AIHA in 2010.[5] The nearby towns of Bruderheim, Gibbons and Redwater are associate members of AIHA.[1][6]
Refinery Row (Edmonton)[edit]
Refinery Row refers to the concentration of oil refineries in west Sherwood Park,[7][8][9][10][11] Strathcona County, Alberta, just east of the city of Edmonton. The two main refineries in Refinery Row are the Strathcona Refinery (Imperial Oil),[12] and the Suncor Edmonton Refinery (Suncor Energy)[13] The other main refineries in the Edmonton area are also located in Strathcona County, in a separate concentration around Scotford, Alberta.
Air quality[edit]
Air quality in the Industrial Heartland and surrounding area is monitored by the Fort Air Partnership (FAP). FAP is a not-for-profit organization formed in 1997 to monitor the air within a 4,500-square-kilometre airshed located immediately north and east of Edmonton. The FAP area includes the city of Fort Saskatchewan, the towns of Gibbons, Bon Accord, Bruderheim, Lamont, Redwater, Waskatenau, portions of the counties of Sturgeon, Westlock, Thorhild, Lamont and Strathcona, and Elk Island National Park. Alberta’s Industrial Heartland is located within FAP’s borders. FAP collects and reports on air quality data in a region encompassing one of the most concentrated industrial development areas in Alberta.
FAP’s work is open and transparent, governed by a multi-stakeholder Board of Directors, guided by a scientific Technical Working Group and driven by national and provincial standards. Continuous data is collected and made available to anyone. FAP has 10 continuous air monitoring stations in and around Alberta’s Industrial Heartland.[14]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Who We Are". Alberta's Industrial Heartland Association. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^ Bob Weber (29 August 2015). "Toxic taint: Tests in Alberta industrial heartland reveal air-quality concerns". Canadian Press via Calgary Herald. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ "Alberta's Energy and Innovation Ministers Visit Heartland Region" (PDF), Industrial Heartland, July 2015, archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-08-16, retrieved 30 August 2015
- ^ a b "Where We Are". Alberta's Industrial Heartland Association. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
- ^ a b "History". Alberta's Industrial Heartland Association. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
- ^ "Project Status", Industrial Heartland, July 2015, retrieved 30 August 2015
- ^ "Workers injured in Edmonton plant explosion out of hospital". CBC News. October 24, 2008. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- ^ "Mayor's speech". Strathcona County. October 17, 2007. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
- ^ J. Hall (September 12, 2007). "Work stoppages hit refinery row, oilsands". Edmonton Journal. canada.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- ^ Lawrence Herzog (July 26, 2007). "The 1987 tornado was a turning point". Edmonton Real Estate Weekly. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- ^ "Strathcona County 2008 Map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-23. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
- ^ "Imperial Oil - Strathcona Refinery". Archived from the original on 2010-07-30. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
- ^ Suncor - Refining and Marketing
- ^ "Fort Air Partnership – We Monitor the Air You Breathe". Retrieved 2023-01-13.
