The regulator says the move would reward companies that remediate their old sites promptly, cutting the amount of environmental red ink on their books and making it easier for them to sell or buy old wells. It comes as Alberta tries to figure out what do with the tens of thousands of old wells that pock the provincial landscape.
The reduction makes transactions such as transferring a well licence easier. One factor the regulator considers before it transfers a licence is the financial health of the buyer and the likelihood of its being able to fulfil reclamation obligations. Drew Yewchuk, a lawyer and researcher on Alberta’s regulatory system, said the proposed program would rely on company self-reporting on cleanups. The regulator’s record on auditing those reports, he said, is “horrible.”
Bennett, who agrees the regulator is too lax in granting reclamation certificates, fears that reducing an environmental liability in advance would also reduce a company’s eagerness to finish the job. As well, he’s concerned that giving companies one more way to reduce their environmental liability removes another regulatory checkpoint ensuring that old wells end up in financially secure hands.Bennett said if the government wants to give industry an advance break on its promises to clean up after itself, landowners should have a voice.“If companies had to go and get a sign-off from the landowner, a lot of our concerns would go away,” he said.
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