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EDMONTON – The Alberta government has appointed a new committee to look at ways to accelerate the reclamation of large and growing tailings ponds in the province’s tar sands.
The tar sands mine water steering committee will examine possible policies and options that would allow recovery to occur as quickly and safely as possible.
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“Tar sands mine water management and tailings pond reclamation is a complex issue that requires collaboration,” Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said in a statement Tuesday.
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“This committee will look at all feasible options to address water from tar sands mines and tailings ponds and suggest ways to safely reclaim the land and ensure our waterways remain clean for future generations.”
The six-member committee includes a United Conservative legislature member, a retired oil sands executive, an engineering professor, a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, a former regulator and the former chief of the Fort McKay First Nation.
The committee will be supported by a facilitator external to the government. There is no date for when you will have to report.
‘This is a response to Groundhog Day’
The committee follows in the footsteps of other bodies established over decades to investigate the same issue.
Those bodies include Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance, established by oil sands producers, as well as the government’s own Oil Sands Tailings Research Centre. The universities of Alberta and Calgary have tar sands research teams, as does the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
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“This is a response to Groundhog Day,” said Greenpeace’s Keith Stewart.
“Libraries are full of research that has already been done. “The number of committees that have been eliminated to avoid solving (the problem) is surprising.”
All tar sands producers have already submitted recovery plans to the provincial regulator. The Alberta Energy Regulator has said those plans are based on unproven technology, but they remain on the books.
Tailings ponds grow in size
Some measurements put the tailings ponds at a size of more than 300 square kilometers. They continue to grow.
Last fall, the provincial regulator approved an expansion of Suncor’s Fort Hills mine into a rare type of wetland once considered for environmental protection.
The Canadian Parks and Wildlife Society used company data to estimate that the mine alone will create 60 square kilometers of tailings ponds over its lifetime.
A December report from the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy concluded that the provincial government’s Mining Financial Security Program is inadequate to ensure that Albertans do not foot the bill for oil sands cleanup, estimated at $45,000. and $130 billion, of which $2 billion is currently at stake. reserve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2024.
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