Auditor scolds Alberta over mine cleanup fund, how province handles polluted sites
by Bob Weber, The Canadian Press
Posted Jun 10, 2021 6:25 pm EDT
Last Updated Jun 10, 2021 at 6:28 pm EDT
EDMONTON Alberta’s auditor general is criticizing the government for failing to fix problems pointed out six years ago in a program that’s supposed to guarantee coal and oilsands mines clean up after themselves.
Doug Wylie says there’s so much confusion over who’s responsible for the government’s own
contaminated sites that there’s no stable funding to ensure that an abandoned coal mine in northern Alberta stays safe.
Alberta Energy Regulator CEO Laurie Pushor says the agency is not about to start collecting municipal property taxes or rent to landowners when it comes to…
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Alberta Energy Regulator CEO Laurie Pushor says the agency is not about to start collecting municipal property taxes or rent to landowners when it comes to unpaid bills by oil and natural gas producers.
That’s not the regulator’s mandate.
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Try refreshing your browser, or Varcoe: AER boss says more scrutiny ahead for unpaid oilpatch taxes, lease payments Back to video
However, for the first time, the AER is beginning to collect information from producers about unpaid municipal property taxes and landowner lease payments, two areas of mounting concern.
A new report from the University of Calgary says inactive wells increased by more than 50 per cent between 2015 and 2020. The Alberta Energy Regulator expects another 6,014 of them in 2021.
Study finds abandoned oil and gas wells place unfair burden on landowners, taxpayers edmontonsun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from edmontonsun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.