Introduction

I was invited to introduce myself.
My name is John Brownlee. Northern Lights EMS is the company name that I
operate under. Not a big fan of Facebook but will eventually sign on
for LinkedIn. Regulatory Expert (water, land use, oil sands)
Short history: B.Sc. 1975, M.E.S. (Water resource management) 1978
1980-1994, land use plannning roles in ALberta up to head of the Crown land planning program (IRPs) and public consultation
1994-2004, consultant with Komex, including:
– land administrator for the Gwich’in Tribal Council
– technical advisor to the drafting of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (and to a lesser extent, the Regulations)
– helped develop a liability assessment tool for upstream oil and gas
(as part of a Komex team), and led several major liability assessments
and numerous smaller assessments
– short overseas assignments (Yemen, Russia, Ecuador, Colombia)
– taught environmental and mediation courses in 7 universities in Peru,
including first environmental master’s degree program in that country,
in 2001
– expert witness for Mikisew Cree in joint panel hearings for CNRL Horizon and Shell Jackpine (oil sands mines) in 2003
– 2004-Feb 2010, senior environmental scientist, then section leader for
Environment (and major applications) for the ERCB’s Fort McMurray
(mineable oil sands) regional office (a few accomplishments)
– currently, supporting Conklin and other Metis and First Nation
communities in regulatory matters related to in situ and mineable oil
sands
– also moving from Fort McMurray to Calgary as my wife (Edme) is starting her PhD in cumulative effects assessment in Sept 2010.
– my next priority (starting Sept 2011 if all the stars align),
undertake a PhD at U of Calgary to assess environmental liabilities of
mineable oil sands. I need all or most of an expert team in place,
before biting into this elephant. Any referrals welcome.
– highest priority, our kids and grandchildren.
– all questions welcome.