Alan Harvie
Senior Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Related services and key industries
Biography
Alan Harvie has practised energy and environmental/regulatory law since 1989 and regularly deals with commercial, operational, environmental and regulatory issues, especially for the upstream and midstream oil and gas, energy, waste disposal and chemical industries. He is a member of our energy and environmental departments.
Mr. Harvie also has significant legal experience acting for the oil and gas industry in commercial transactions and regulatory matters, including enforcement proceedings, common carrier and processor applications, forced poolings, downspacings and holdings, rateable take, and contested facility, well and pipeline applications. He has also dealt extensively with commercial, environmental and regulatory issues concerning thermal and renewable power plants, electrical transmission and distribution lines, tourism and recreation projects, forestry, mining, agriculture, commercial real estate, industrial facilities, sewage plants, hazardous waste landfills and treatment facilities, transportation of dangerous goods and water storage reservoirs.
Mr. Harvie regularly advises clients about environmental assessments and permitting, spill response, enforcement proceedings, contaminated site remediation, facility decommissioning and reclamation, chemical compliance (DSL, NDSL, MSDS and HMIRC), nuclear licensing, crude-by-rail projects and product recycling and stewardship requirements.
Mr. Harvie has appeared before the Alberta Courts, the Alberta Energy Regulator, the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, the Alberta Utilities Commission, the Natural Resources Conservation Board, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board, the Municipal Government Board and various other environmental, regulatory and municipal bodies. He assisted the government of British Columbia in reforming the regulation of oil and gas activities in the province, and advised regulatory authorities in Colombia on developing rules for the exploration and development of coal bed methane resources.
He has led environmental and regulatory legal due diligence teams on a significant number of merger and acquisition, commercial, securities and financing projects, including acting for Petro-Canada in its C$55 billion merger with Suncor Energy and numerous other transactions involving large natural resource industry players. Mr. Harvie has a comprehensive understanding of regulatory and tenure systems governing the development of Canada’s vast oil sands deposits.
He has recently developed practical experience in the embryonic field of carbon capture and storage, and worked on a number of carbon emission reduction and credit trading projects, including methane reduction, landfill gas capture, energy efficiency and agricultural and forestry offset projects.
Mr. Harvie has been involved with regulatory and policy issues concerning water rights in Alberta for over 30 years. He has successfully completed projects involving the trading of water rights, worked with ecological and hydrological experts on instream flow assessments and participated in major irrigation and hydropower projects. He has a deep understanding of water resources laws and Fisheries Act issues, including enforcement proceedings.
Professional experience
Collapse all- Alberta 1989
Matters in which Mr. Harvie has recently acted include:
- Environmental counsel to NorthRiver Midstream, a unit of Brookfield Infrastructure, in the $4.3 billion purchase of Enbridge's Canadian natural gas gathering and processing business consisting of 19 sweet and sour gas processing plants and liquids handling facilities and 3,550 km of gas-gathering pipelines.
- Environmental counsel to Enbridge Income Fund in the $30.4 billion acquisition of the Enbridge Mainline, Athabasca System, associated terminals and Blackspring Ridge wind project from Enbridge Inc.
- Counsel to a special committee of the trustees of Enbridge Commercial Trust on a C$1.16 billion acquisition of crude oil storage and renewable power generation assets from Enbridge Inc. and a C$1.76 billion acquisition of international natural gas and diluents pipelines from Enbridge Inc.
- Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2011-2022: recommended in Environmental Law
- Acritas Stars 2019-2021 – Designated as an "Independently rated lawyer"
- Who's Who Legal: Canada - Climate Change, Environment 2011-2020
- Chambers Canada, Nationwide: Environment, Chambers and Partners, 2016-2022
- Chambers Global, Canada: Environment, Chambers and Partners, 2016-2022
- Acritas Stars 2018 Designated as a "Star" lawyer by a panel of over 4,300 clients
- Best Lawyers in Canada: Energy Law, Environmental Law, 2006-2022
- The Legal 500 Canada, 2016: Environment
- The International Who’s Who of Environment Lawyers, 2011-2013, 2017-2019
- PLC Which Lawyer? 2011 (Canada) in the area of Environment
- "Alberta Energy Regulator to mandate further financial disclosure by oil companies," January 2021.
- "A federal hydrogen strategy for Canada," January 2021.
- "Canada announces clean fuel regulations," January 2021.
- "Clean Fuel Regulations," December 2020.
- "Alberta outlines a new oil and gas Licensee Capability Assessment," December 2020.
- "Canada to increase carbon taxes by 467%," December 2020.
- "Canadian government leads the way on CCUS," October 2020.
- "Alberta carbon offsets can be used in federal system," October 2020.
- "Alberta expands TIER regulation to reduce scope of federal carbon taxes," August 2020.
- "Alberta announces new oil and gas liability management framework," August 2020.
- "Alberta issues guidance on site-specific risk assessments for contaminated sites," July 2020.
- "Alberta to set time limits on Alberta Energy Regulator's assessment of oil and gas applications," June 2020.
- "Can you claim a carbon credit for shutting down due to the pandemic?" June 2020.
- "Alberta Energy Regulator clarifies modifications to reporting and other regulatory requirements," May 2020.
- "Alberta Becomes the First Canadian Province to Modify Environmental Reporting Rules in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic," April 2020.
- "Alberta Energy Regulator Defers Some Reporting Requirements," April 2020.
- "Alberta Clarifies Environmental Clean-up Requirements with Release of Remedial Action Plan Guide," April 2020.
- "Alberta Expands Orphan Well Association's Powers," April 2020.
- "Government of Alberta Announces Six-Month Funding of Industry Levy," March 2020.
- "Alberta Grants One-Year Tenue Extensions to Bolster Industry," March 2020.
- "Expanding Redwater Beyond Oil and Gas: Can Other Regulators Enforce Orders in an Insolvency," April 2019.
- "Auditor General Provides Insight into Inspection and Enforcement of Toxic Substances Regulations," October 2018.
- "Alberta's Area-based Closure Program for Inactive Oil and Gas Sites," October 2018.
- "Oil Embargo: Alberta's Preserving Canada's Economic Prosperity Act," May 2018.
- Canadian Bar Association – Alberta Branch
- Law Society of Alberta
- Member & past chair, Canadian Bar Association Environmental Law Subsection
- Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation
- International Emissions Trading Association
- Petroleum Joint Venture Association
- Founding director, Western Sky Land Trust Society
- Former president, Trout Unlimited Canada
News
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Knowledge
Alberta Court declares federal Impact Assessment Act unconstitutional
Publication | May 26, 2022
Alberta renewables market seeing strong growth
Publication | March 07, 2022
Comment period open for proposed ban of common single-use plastics
Publication | February 09, 2022
New licensee capability assessment for oil and gas producers in Alberta
Publication | December 7, 2021