The Financial Post reports in its Saturday, Nov. 2, edition that Alberta's energy regulator has announced that it will not require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a $16.5-billion carbon capture and storage project. The Post's Meghan Potkins writes that the decision follows a request from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Ecojustice for such an assessment of the Pathways Alliance project, which involves a 400-kilometre pipeline to underground sequestration in the Cold Lake region. While EIAs are not mandatory under Alberta's Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, the regulator stated it can change its stance if new information arises. The project's environmental impact can still be reviewed during the application process for its components. Critics have labelled this as a "piecemeal approach" to assessing environmental concerns. Critics are concerned about the risks of leaks from carbon dioxide pipelines and the potential contamination of groundwater from injected CO2. ACFN chief Allen Adam says: The AER does not want to put the project through an environmental assessment "because it will expose the environmental impacts, the poor economic viability and the risks to human health."