New licences for sour gas and oil wells halted in Alberta
Dina O'Meara, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Alberta's Energy Resources and Conservation Board has suspended licencing of sour gas and oil well after losing an Alberta Court of Appeal case that could have far-reaching implications for the industry.
The provincial court stated the ERCB had erred in its decision not to allow three women in the Drayton Valley area to participate in public hearings on two sour gas wells proposed by Grizzly Resources Ltd. and ordered the board to rehear the application.
The fact that the wells already have been drilled should not be "treated as a limit on ultimately concluding that Grizzly should not be permitted to operate them," according to the Oct. 28 judgment.
Bob Curran, ERCB spokesman, said Tuesday the board would not comment on the case until fully assessing its impact.
The women all live outside of the emergency planning zone established by Grizzly, but downwind of the wells within a "protective action zone," a relatively new ERCB directive created July 2008.
The board was unreasonable in dismissing the women's objections to the wells, and misstating their test for standing, the Court of Appeal judges said in their Oct. 28 decision.
The suspension has affected 69 applications for oil and gas sour wells, associated facilities and pipelines.
domeara@theherald.canwest.com
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