|
|
Oil Industry Cleanup Costs Vastly Exceed Alberta Government’s Estimates
http://therealnews.com/stories/oil-industry-cleanup-costs-vastly-exceed-alberta-governments-estimatesDate Written: 2018-11-25 Publisher: The Real News Network Year Published: 2018 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX23134 Transcript of interview with Regan Boychuk of Reclaim Alberta on the cost to clean up after Alberta's tar sand industry. Abstract: -- Excerpt: A tar sands scandal has erupted in Canada thanks to an unintentional leak by Alberta's Energy Regulator. As reported by the National Observer earlier this month, Alberta's Energy Regulator privately estimates the total cost of cleaning up the toxic tar sands tailing ponds to be as high as an eye-watering $260 billion, far higher than the estimate of $50 billion previously circulating. The official who delivered the new estimate is Rob Wadsworth, vice president of closure and liability for the Alberta Energy Regulator. He said that a "flawed system of industrial oversight is to blame for a problem that ultimately could leave taxpayers on the hook to cover a portion of the costs." What makes this revelation particularly disturbing is that the government has only collected $1.6 in liability security from oil companies, meaning that these massive cleanup costs are almost entirely unfunded and could well fall onto the shoulders of taxpayers long after oil companies have exploited these resources and distributed the profits to executives and shareholders. Subject Headings |