Alan Harvie
Alan has practised energy and environmental/regulatory law since 1989 and regularly deals with commercial, operational, environmental and regulatory issues, especially for the upstream oil and gas, energy, waste disposal and chemical industries. He is Chair of the firm's Environmental Law Practice Group and a member of the firm's Energy Department. Alan also has significant legal experience in acting for the oil and gas industry in commercial transactions and regulatory matters, including common carrier and processor applications, forced poolings, downspacings and holdings, rateable take, and contested facility, well and pipeline applications. Alan 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, commercial real estate, industrial facilities, sewage plants, hazardous waste landfills and treatment facilities and water storage reservoirs.
Alan has appeared before the Alberta Courts, the Energy Resources Conservation Board, the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, 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 reform the regulation of oil and gas activities in the Province, and advised the regulatory authorities in Colombia for developing rules for the exploration and development of coal bed methane resources.
Alan has led environmental and regulatory legal due diligence teams on a significant number of merger and acquisition, commercial, securities and financing projects, including recently acting for Petro Canada in its Cdn $55 billion merger with Suncor Energy and numerous other transactions involving large natural resource industry players. He has a comprehensive understanding of regulatory and tenure systems governing exploration and development of Canada's vast oil sands deposits.
Alan 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 landfill gas capture, energy efficiency and agricultural offset projects.
Alan has been involved with regulatory and policy issues with respect to water rights in Alberta for over 20 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.
The L'EXPERT Legal Directory has repeatedly recommended Alan as a leading lawyer in environmental law, and he is listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading environmental lawyer in Canada and in The International Who's Who of Environmental Lawyers as one of 453 international environmental law experts.
Alan is a former President of Trout Unlimited Canada, a founding director of the Western Sky Land Trust and the former Chair of the Canadian Bar Association's Environmental Law Section.
- University of Wales, LL.B. (Honours), 1988
- University of Alberta, B.A. (Economics), 1984
- Alberta, 1989
- Member, Law Society of Alberta
- Member, Canadian Bar Association – Alberta Branch
- Member & Past Chair, CBA Environmental Law Subsection
- Member, Canadian Water Resources Association
- Member, International Emissions Trading Association
- Member, Petroleum Joint Venture Association
- Member, Highwood-Little Bow Public Advisory Committee
- Past Chair, Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Environment Policy Sub-Committee
- Presenter, Navigating the Emerging Regulatory Issues Around CCS Liability, January 2010
- Presenter, Environmental Law & Regulation North of 60°, Climate Change Compliance and Beyond: Applying the Regulatory Framework to Commercial Activities and Transactions North of 60°, November 2009
- Presenter, 13th Annual Federated Press Due Diligence "Environmental Due Diligence: Paying Due Care and Attention, November 2009
- Presenter, 6th Annual Clear Coal Symposium, Understanding the New Federal Guidelines, October 2009
- Article, The Wild West Water Market: Developing Rules for Water Rights in Alberta, Canadian Water Treatment and Magazine, September/October 2009 edition
- Presenter, Global Petroleum Show, Carbon Capture and Storage Legal and Regulatory Considerations, June 2009
- Presenter, WaterTech 2009, Buying and Selling Alberta Water Rights: Legal and Regulatory Requirements and Challenges, May 2009
- Presenter, 12th Annual EUEC Energy & Environment Conference, Carbon Capture and Storage: The Canadian Experience, February 2009
- Presenter, CO2 Capture and Storage Conference, Legal and Regulatory Considerations, February 2009
- Presenter, Environmental Law Forum, Carbon Capture and Storage: The Canadian Experience, January 2009
- Presenter, Environmental Law & Regulation North of 60°, Getting Ready for the New Regulatory Framework for Air Emissions: Legal and Practical Strategies, November 2008
- Presenter, Alberta Cross Ministry Enforcement Conference, Views from the Corporate Environmental Defendant, October 2008
- Co-Presenter, Western Canada Carbon Management Forum, Carbon Trading Contracts, June 2008
- Presenter, The Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference 2008, Environmental Law in Alberta, June 2008
- Presenter, 2nd Annual Carbon Trading Conference, Carbon Capture and Storage, April 2008
- Moderator, Globe 2008, Climate Change Policy and Regulatory Trends in North America, March 2008
- Presenter, III Columbia Oil & Gas Investment Conference, Entitlement to Coal Bed Methane: Canadian and US Legal Experiences, February 2008
- Presenter, CO2 Capture and Storage Conference, CO2 Capture and Storage Regulations: Approvals, Responsibilities and Legal Issues, January 2008
- Moderator, Canadian Energy Research Institute 2008 Electricity Conference, Carbon Closer to Home, 2008
- Presenter, Air & Water Management Association Vapour Intrusion Conference, Vapour Intrusion and the Common Law, November 2007
- Presenter, The EUB Coalbed Methane Review Hearing: A First Step on the Path to Certainty?, June 2007
- Presenter, Enhanced Oil Recovery, Legal and Regulatory Issues, May 2007
- New EUB Public Consultation Requirements, March 2007
- Presenter, CO2 Capture and Storage Conference, CO2 Enhanced Resource Recovery in Alberta, February 2007
- Update: Meeting the Legal, Regulatory and Environmental Challenges of Coalbed Methane Development in Alberta, November 2006
- Update: Meeting the Legal, Regulatory and Environmental Challenges of Coalbed Methane Development in Alberta, October 2005
- Update: Meeting the Legal, Regulatory and Environmental Challenges of Coalbed Methane Development in Alberta, October 2002
- Class Actions for Environmental Claims, February 2002
- Designated as a "Best Lawyer in Canada", 2010
- Environmental Law
- Designated as a "Best Lawyer in Canada", 2009
- Environmental Law
- Leading Practitioner, Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2008
- Environmental Law
- Designated as a "Best Lawyer in Canada", 2007
- Environmental Law
- Founding Director, Western Sky Land Trust Society
- Former President, Trout Unlimited Canada













