Alberta Oilsands Cleanup Harder Than First Thought: Industry, Regulator

[Joe Shlabotnik]

NO SHIT

(Alberta's) energy regulator says all oilsands companies affected by tailings reduction rules missed what were supposed to be legally binding targets — some by wide margins. All were given extra years to meet reductions that should have been done by now.

Reclaiming mine tailings has been one of the industry's major environmental challenges. Much of that waste material is composed of particles so fine they take years or even decades to settle out of tailings ponds. Without a way to hasten the process, oilsands tailings ponds have grown from 50 square kilometres in 2006 to 176 square kilometres now.

In 2009, the board released regulations that were developed in consultation with industry and were designed to force energy companies to produce fewer tailings. By this year, operators were supposed to be removing at least half of those fine particles from their waste water and storing them so that they'd be firm enough to support a vehicle within a year.

But a recent report, which covers up to the end of 2012, found that none of the four licensed operators that so far come under the regulation was on track to meet that goal.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/11/alberta-oilsands-cleanup-tailings-harder_n_3422814.html

From the comment section:
"Let's face it these tailing ponds are forever..when the economic life of the projects end..the companies will walk away..nobody is going to clean this mega mess."

[pscot]

1. Life is full of surprises

but this isn't one of them.