Alberta Surface Rights Group past Director Rob Schwartz: Engrave Canada West Foundation’s epiphany on stone tablet, bring down from “Mount Regulatory” as educational aid to teach future generations it’s their duty to clean up for the oil patch

Rob Schwartz ‎Alberta Surface Rights Group:


Hallelujah folks !! . Looks like the The Canada West Foundation has had an epiphany . They found a solution to the 100,000+ orphan well leases that are located on your privately owned surface land and I am willing to bet they did not consult with any surface landowners that are burdened with these dud non paying leases or any of the counties that are owed linear tax. Absolutely great idea that might even get CAPP’s blessing. Maybe we should ask to have this idea engraved on a stone tablet or something ? Future generations could bring that stone tablet down from Mount Regulatory as an educational aid in teaching future generations why it is their duty to clean up our environmental mess.

Dwight Popowich:

The report says it is about the repurposing of a very small number of oil and gas well sites into renewable energy sites. The problem is that they want to do this without having to cleanup the contamination or deal with the liability associated with those inactive wells. They are also very aware of the property rights issues. The Polluter Pay Federation (PPF) attend two of the Energy Futures Lab (EFL) meetings after demanding a seat at the table for Landowners. Yes, Landowners concerns were heard. The report reflects that somewhat, but while they will not out right say it, they would love for the repurposing of inactive wells into renewable energy production, to be done automatically, with the landowner not having the right to refuse the development. They want to sell “repurposing” projects, as green energy projects, but without cleaning up any contamination that may already be there. It is just another public deception plan, written by the foxes (energy corps), for the henhouse (AER), they now control.

Dave Warren:

I hope the land owners raise hell with the province. What is the point of land ownership if the province is going to shove stuff down your throat all the time? Perhaps some landowner want the areas used providing they are paid fairly. But I don’t see it.

2010 Scientific American:

… All sources of energy—hydropower, nuclear, wind or coal—have advantages and disadvantages. Geothermal energy has the advantage of being clean and renewable, but earthquakes are a downside. **Much of Alberta’s subsurface has been raped and quaked to hell. Just wait til they frac us with nuclear waste from Kenney et al’s Small Nukes. I expect our frac fields underground look like North Dakota’s making Alberta a risky place for geothermal. But’s that’s ok, with Kenney in the lead, all the liabilities will hang on ordinary Canadians from coast to coast to coast.**

Alberta urged to remove hurdles to turning dormant oil wells into ‘major’ opportunity, Report says unused oil and gas sites could play role in alternative energy development across the province by Tony Seskus, CBC News, Apr 26, 2021

Thousands of dormant oil and gas sites in Alberta could be a “major” economic opportunity in the province, with the potential for many to be repurposed for alternative energy uses, according to a new report.

But it says for such efforts to take off — potentially turning unused sites into geothermal, hydrogen or lithium recovery projects — the provincial government needs to address the regulatory gaps holding things up.

The report, prepared by the Energy Futures Lab and the Canada West Foundation, calls on policymakers to take legislative action and urges better co-ordination between regulators.

Participants from the oilpatch, new energy ventures, synergizers for industry landownerslaw firms and others contributed to the report.  

… Alberta had more than 2,600 orphan oil and gas sites as of April 1, facilities that haven’t been remediated by their often-bankrupt owners. There are nearly of 3,400 orphan pipelines needing to decommissioned.

According to the new report, there are more than 95,000 inactive wells in Alberta.

**And how many industry contaminated/frac’d drinking water aquifers?**

Such wells can pose an “enormous public financial and environmental liability,” the report says. Last year, the federal government provided Alberta with $1 billion to help clean up the sites. **With how much of the money vanishing quickly stateside via CEO and upper management bankrupt pockets?**

But the dormant infrastructure also represents a variety opportunities, the report adds.

“Many — although not all — of these sites are good candidates for repurposing for other energy uses, including geothermal, micro-solar, hydrogen, recovery of lithium or other minerals, or carbon capture and storage,” it says.

Finding new uses for old energy infrastructure, it says, will create jobs, help diversify the economy, create new economic opportunities for landowners and ease the taxpayer burden around site liability.

For instance, an old well site could be used for a solar project because it may already have road access, lease, a gravelled surface and nearby power lines that it could tie into. …

But the report says many innovative projects have died due to either inflexible regulations that do not allow for site repurposing and/or difficulties in assigning financial liability.

The report also dives into more specific concerns, ranging from those of landowners, those related to repurposing surface and subsurface uses, plus the tricky issue of transferring liability from an existing licensee. **Which in my view of Canada West Foundation et al‘s plan, is the reason industry is part of the “collaboration” with the End Game to be escape from all contaminated land and water liability and site clean-up.**

The report and its recommendations have been sent to the provincial government. 

Province reviewing report

Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said the department is reviewing the report and its recommendations. 

“The government continues to work on a number of priorities raised in the report,” **That’s terrifying.** Savage said in an emailed statement.

That includes modernizing the oil and gas liability management framework, developing a geothermal policy framework and updating and modernizing the mineral tenure and regulatory frameworks,**Translation: Make Canadians pay for it all, and shoulder the liabilities** she said.

“We welcome further discussions on these important issues,” Savage said.
A few of the comments to the article above:

John Howard:

The millions of dollars that have gone into cleaning up these abandoned wells went where?
How many have been properly dealt with? If there is no answer for that question, I say not a penny more to Alberta until they sign off on the ownership.

James Trip:

Why are the tax payers of Canada paying to clean up the mess left behind by the profiteering oil conglomerates?

—————–
The cash is part of a federally funded site rehabilitation program announced last May to direct up to $1 billion toward reclamation projects in Alberta. Just over $300 million has been delivered to 633 Alberta-based companies so far.

David Davies:

just waiting for the announcement of the a panel of trough snuffers to hand pick a bunch of ucpers to get rich

Morgan Arthurson:

Looks like the Alberta oil and gas industry is hoping for another major opportunity to get their hands on more Alberta taxpayer money.

Chris Elliston:

Is Alberta going to return the $1 billion they got to clean up the abandoned wells then?

Ken Hale:

The companies want the wells for free but without any liability.
It is a big ponzi scheme trying to get something for nothing. …

Mike Risk:

When I worked in the Alberta oilpatch many years ago, the people I met were wonderful-generous, hardworking, honest. Now they seem to have been replaced by greedy whiners. fyi, Alberta has the highest: # of CFA’s, climate deniers, and Trump supporters.

Al Park:

The auditor general gave Kenney and the UCP the title of worst fiscally managed party in Alberta history but cons will vote for him no matter what.

Jonathan Ratzlaff:

Kenney’s political career is based on one thing. Blind obediance to fossil fuel corporations. Any alternative is beyond his comprehension.

Jan Myers:

The Big Oil companies should be on the hook for every single one of these abandoned oil wells. So far the only person that’s been paying the bill is the Canadian taxpayer

**

Refer also to:

Kenney goes a beggin’ to Trudeau for mega cash & tax cuts to give yet more $billions in corporate welfare to billion dollar profit raping oil patch; Kenney & CAPP want Canadians (and their heirs and their heirs and their heirs, etc.) to be forced to pay for oil & gas industry’s rape & pillage & pollution of Alberta.

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