pA wins Award for Athabasca CRISP

On October 10, the Athabasca Oil Sands CRISP project won an Award for Merit at the 2012 CIP/APPI Conference in Banff, Alberta. Senior Planner Tom Coyle accepted the award on pA’s behalf.

The development of the Comprehensive Regional Infrastructure Sustainability Plan (CRISP) for the Athabasca Oil Sands Area (AOSA) was led by the province's Oil Sands Sustainable Development Secretariat and planningAlliance, and was created through the input of a number of provincial ministries, municipalities, First Nations and Métis, industry as well as other stakeholders.

The AOSA CRISP establishes a long-term framework for future infrastructure development based on possible future oil sands production rates and associated population growth, and will enhance the way provincial and municipal governments work and plan together. The AOSA CRISP was released in April 2011, and implementation is underway. CRISPs for the Cold Lake and Peace River Oil Sands Areas are in varying stages of development. The CRISP represents a creative approach to managing growth pressures associated with resource development, a model that is not only applicable in Alberta, but across the country as well.