Alberta's Orphan Wells Crisis

Alberta has hundreds of thousands of abandoned, inactive, and "orphan" wells across the province. Like most other jurisdictions, it requires polluters, including oil and gas operators, to pay cleanup costs once operations cease. Unfortunately, legislation allows O&G operators to keep passing on these costs to less able entities, and most governments have not enforced their own regulations.

In this half-day mini-course, Dr. David Swann and two other experts will outline the tremendous liabilities that are falling to the public and future generations, as delays hamper essential cleanup (reclamation) of inactive sites, facilities, and pipelines, blocking land development. This also places both the environment and human health at risk. There will be a short comment and discussion time.

Presenters:

• Dr. David Swann, Former MLA; Former Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health; Member, Coalition for Responsible Energy - C4RE
• Phillip Meintzer is a campaign organizer with C4RE, a non-partisan coalition of landowners, scientists, doctors, academics, and a number of Indigenous, environmental, health, and civil society organizations.
• Mark Dorin is a landowner and longtime oil and gas operator who has been immersed in the legal and economic issues of oil and gas liabilities for three decades, acting for many landowners across Alberta.