Out-of-control oil and gas development threatens the well-being of Albertans and the land, says a new coalition of landowner groups demanding an overhaul of the province's energy regulator.
But the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) says it has an excellent track record on managing the province's energy resources in the public's interest.
The Coalition for Alberta's Future, which represents owners of one-quarter of all the private property in the province, wants the EUB to cancel two proposed regulatory changes for oil and gas development or it says it may call for EUB chairman Neil McCrank's resignation.
"Industry development is happening faster than we can keep track of," says Norma LaFonte of Strathmore, a spokeswoman for the Wheatland Surface Rights Action Group, a member of the new coalition.
Mary Lynn Fraser, of the High River Citizen Group south of Calgary, says the EUB's two proposed changes would increase the number of wells drilled beneath private property while weakening enforcement of energy development rules.
"They're going to remove the landowner's right for notification and consultation ... it's quite frustrating for landowners," Fraser says.
But EUB spokesman Bob Curran says that based on data gathered annually in the field, the regulator's performance is outstanding.
"Our compliance levels (by industry) are higher now than they've ever been," he says. "Our incidents are down. Our number of public complaints is down. Our number of inspections is up in the field."
Curran believes the new coalition's concerns are driven by record-setting levels of industry activity, coupled with more urban sprawl and companies exploring for oil and gas in relatively undeveloped areas.
That combination is increasingly bringing rural residents and the industry into conflict, he says. "You're getting a 'push out' of urban growth and you're getting a 'push in' of industry activity."
But the coalition, which represents 13 landowner and community groups, argues that the EUB is no longer properly managing energy development.
Under a current EUB proposal, called Bulletin 2005-08, the regulator would automatically approve a higher density of underground oil or gas wells per section of land without requiring companies to consult with landowners, the coalition says.
Under the other proposal, Bulletin 2005-09, the EUB would weaken its existing enforcement system by using greater discretion in how it enforces regulations, landowners say.
Francis Gardner, a member of the Pekisko group of ranching families in the Longview area in southwest Alberta, says the regulatory changes will lead to oil and gas development along the entire Rocky Mountain eastern slopes.
That scale and intensity of development will ruin Alberta's last remaining large area of intact native grasslands, Gardner says. "It's a very rare bird and it's not going to be replaced if we destroy it."
But the EUB's Curran says that the change to allow a higher density of wells beneath private land is only to ensure that oil and gas reservoirs are developed as efficiently as possible.
Even if a company gets approval for multiple subsurface wells, it will still have to apply to the EUB to build wellsites and other facilities on the surface, Curran says.
That's when the regulator will take into account any concerns by landowners, he adds.
Fraser, however, complains that the EUB has kept High River-area residents in the dark about 35 to 40 wells that Calgary-based Compton Petroleum Ltd. wants to drill on just 10 sections of land near the town.
"An unbelievable number of wells are being drilled in a very small space," she says.
Curran says the EUB has extended the period for public input on the proposed change to well densities until June 1 this year.
Before making any final decision, the EUB will also wait for a report by an Alberta Energy-led multi-stakeholder committee that's looking at whether new regulations are needed for fast-expanding coalbed methane (CBM) development.
CBM typically requires a higher density of wells than conventional gas production, although Curran insists the change in well densities merely formalizes current EUB practice and isn't being done to accommodate CBM development.
Coalition members complain that it's already impossible for landowners to refuse an oil or gas well on their property, and that the EUB's other proposed change on how it enforces its rules will only make things worse.
The High River Citizen Group's Fraser says despite several letters of objection by residents to the EUB about new wells in the High River area, "a well went in 500 metres from my daughter's bedroom.
"In the last five years, I've felt like I've been living in a Third World country," she says.
But Curran says that the second proposed change will give the EUB more flexibility to increase industry compliance with its rules.
"The rules and regulations still have to be followed, and none of that has changed," Curran notes.
Rancher Gardner says if Albertans don't want energy development to leave their province looking like Haiti, with its denuded forests and spoiled landscapes, "we need some vision. We need some planning."
(Mark Lowey can be reached at mark@businessedge.ca)
