The AER and OWA appeal Redwater decision to the Supreme Court
Alberta - February 14, 2018Jim Ellis, AER president and CEO
In Alberta, we live by a simple rule: if you’re going to profit from our energy resources, you must be responsible and properly abandon the infrastructure and reclaim the site.
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) argued today before Canada’s highest court in an effort to ensure that provincial legislation that says polluters must pay to clean up their mess is upheld.
In May 2016, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta ruled in a dispute that pitted Redwater receiver Grant Thornton Limited and creditor ATB Financial against the AER and the Orphan Well Association (OWA).
The ruling stated that receivers and trustees that manage energy company bankruptcies do not have to abide by provincial legislation, and can ignore environmental and public safety obligations, in order to maximize profit for secured creditors.
“In Alberta, we live by a simple rule: if you’re going to profit from our energy resources, you must be responsible and properly abandon the infrastructure and reclaim the site.”
For more information on the regulator’s stance, read Ellis’s statement.
In the media
Supreme Court Case To Decide Who Pays To Clean-Up Toxic Industrial Sites
Baystreet.ca
February 14, 2018 www.baystreet.ca
Supreme Court case on oil wells pits provincial environmental rules against federal insolvency laws
The Globe and Mail
February 13, 2018 www.theglobeandmail.com
Fenner Stewart - Oil Well Reclamation and the Redwater Decision
C.D. Howe Institute
February 07, 2018 www.cdhowe.org
Ryan Bartlett, Writer