Led by eight Board members, the ERCB's team of engineers, geologists, technicians, economists, and other professionals served Albertans from thirteen locations across the province.
The ERCB's mission was to ensure that the discovery, development, and delivery of Alberta's energy resources took place in a manner that was fair, responsible and in the public interest.
The Board provided this assurance of the public interest through its activities in the application and hearing process, regulation, monitoring, and surveillance and enforcement.
When conflicts regarding development remained unresolved between companies and landowners, the ERCB worked to settle the issues in a fair and balanced manner.
In October 2008, ERCB was named one of Alberta's Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc., which was announced by the Calgary Herald[1] and the Edmonton Journal.
[5] According to their brochure the Alberta Energy Regulator "ensures the safe, efficient, orderly, and environmentally responsible development of hydrocarbon resources over their entire life cycle.
This includes allocating and conserving water resources, managing public lands, and protecting the environment while providing economic benefits for all Albertans.
To maintain its autonomous structure, the ERCB answered directly to the Executive Council (Cabinet) of Alberta through the Minister of Energy, but it made its formal decisions independently in accordance with the six statutes it administers.
The Resource Group dealt with applications and issues related to development and conservation projects for oil, gas, and coal.
This branch provided technical and operational expertise in the development, application, and enforcement of regulatory requirements for conventional and nonconventional resources.
Human Resources provides services and programs to ensure that a competent and committed workforce was in place to achieve ERCB goals and objectives.
This branch was responsible for ERCB information systems, support, and technological infrastructure, with a focus on new ways to deliver electronic commerce.
This branch provided a wide range of legal advice and services to the organization, with a focus on procedural fairness and objectivity.
Its responsibilities included application and regulatory policy, hearings, proceedings, related internal and external consultations, and the formulation of energy regulations and legislation.
The branch administered intervener funding and led a key advisory committee that advises the Board on decisions and policy matters.
This branch maintained an integrated and current inventory of Alberta's subsurface energy, mineral, and other resources in a geological framework.
It provided knowledge, advice, and forecasts about the states of earth-energy resource development in the context of Alberta's environment, economy, and society.
In their 2012 report ECRB cautioned that oil sands operators failed to convert their tailings ponds into deposits suitable for reclamation in a timely fashion, as proposed in their project applications.
Wood Buffalo authorities organised evacuations from some areas and placed others in boil water advisories as local waterways, such as the Hangingstone River, rose to dangerously high levels.
ERCB approval for a facility or project was considered to be routine if an application was complete, there were no landowner objections, and the company applying had met all technical, safety, public consultation, and environmental requirements.
The general rule was that each government department checks that a specific proposal meets its own regulations and standards and then forwards any deficiencies or concerns to the ERCB via Alberta Environment.
"[19] An ERCB hearing was a formal process that provided an important opportunity for different points of view about an energy project to be aired in a fair and orderly forum.
Applications filed may have created community concern or a need for more information; however, these matters were often settled through an Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) process.