No takers for Alberta program offering partial credit for partial oil well cleanup

Pumpjacks draw oil out of the ground in a canola field near Olds, Alta., Thursday, July 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Landowner resistance seems to have quashed an Alberta government pilot program offering energy companies partial recognition for well site cleanup that isn't complete.

The Well Site Reduction program would certify reclamation for a site that meets environmental standards, even if it isn't fully cleaned up or if it's still operating.

Five months after the program opened for applications, no companies have asked to join it.

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The program requires permission from the affected landowner.

Daryl Bennett of the Alberta Surface Rights Federation says all landowners groups in the province have told their members not to participate.

He says the program could reduce payments to landowners while leaving the worst environmental liabilities on their land untouched.

The program is the Alberta government's latest attempt to deal with conflicts between the province's struggling conventional energy industry and the rural communities in which it operates.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.