Reaching for resource resolutions

Times Contributor      

 

Rambling through the maze of department reorganization under the Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) restructuring had Wheatland Council a little stumped, so they met with representatives from the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) on Jan. 21, to try and get clarification and answers to some of their outstanding questions. 

“If we have one place to go, it will definitely make things better,” said Reeve Glenn Koester.

“We hope it will be one-stop shopping and we can handle it all,” said Paula Kersch, AER Engagement Advisor. “The process was more to have everything under one regulator. It was time consuming, but it is hoped to reduce some of the redundancy.”

Kersch, along with Russ Deacon, a senior technologist with AER, said reorganization will soon be complete. While many of the questions posed to them by council had no clear answers, it was evident AER staff was also caught in uncertainty from the reorganization. The reorganization is in the second phase, moving into the third and final phase. They said once the third phase was complete, experts would be at hand and answers would be more concrete.

“It is a learning process for us too. It is in its infancy and we hope to get there for sure,” said Kersch. 

Issues discussed were well setbacks and county/resource company development issues, development notifications, fracking and water use, placement of wells and pipes, cleanup, collective and long term impacts to farmland. 

“The wealth for the Alberta government comes out of rural Alberta and yet when issues arise, the solutions are turned back onto the individuals. I am hoping the new process will turn things around and stop some of these negative things from happening,” said Councillor Alice Booth.

A summary of replies to questions were:

• Resource development companies should adhere to designated county setbacks as well as provincial guidelines. 

• Notification to the county or adjacent landowners is not necessarily part of the new process guidelines. Applications are listed online and people can search development taking place in their area; however, as a courtesy, companies are encouraged to notify adjacent neighbours.

• On fracking, Deacon said concerns about land or wells can be followed up by a field inspector. He said there is stringent regulation for cleanup of old and capped wells. Cleanup has to be completed in one year after work is finished, or operators face penalties. He felt more education on water, ground and subsurface formations may alleviate residents’ fears. He suggested booking an education open house or town hall meeting, if the community was interested. As licensing is now based on geological plays, cumulative affects to unique pockets within those plays have not been monitored to date.

• Water is a big issue and there are a number of reviews in play. They expected at their conclusion and plan implementation, industry will have to look at how they handle water resources and the government will have more clout to enforce requirements. Part of this will be covered in Phase three of reorganization efforts.

• Pipelines are encouraged to be aligned with property designations or corridors, but in some circumstances it can’t be done. There are stringent regulations for maintenance and cleaning of discontinued pipelines. Deacon said studies show pipe disintegration doesn’t have significant soil impact overall. It’s the operator’s responsibility to clean up sites, not the landowners or the county.