The Pembina Institute believes that fresh groundwater will be under increased risk of contamination under a new Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) proposal to allow the mixing of oil or gas produced from different formations.
"Protection of fresh groundwater must be the priority," said Mary Griffiths, a senior policy analyst with the Institute. "This proposal is clearly designed to facilitate access to oil and gas, not to minimize the risk to fresh groundwater."
Griffiths is worried that allowing a company to mix production from two or more formations in one single borehole will provide a pathway for saline water or gas to migrate into fresh groundwater, where one of the formations contains fresh water.
The EUB proposals are set out in Bulletin 2006-16: Commingling of Production from Two or More Pools in the Wellbore. In certain parts of the province companies would be allowed to automatically mix production, if they expect the formations to produce less than 5 cubic metres of water per month. The area includes part of the Ardley formation in central Alberta, where very little is known about the volume of water that may be produced from coalbed methane wells, and whether that water will be fresh or saline.
The proposal relies on self-regulation by industry and does not require a company to shut in a well and stop production if it finds it is producing more than the specified volume of water.
The quality of well water could also be at stake, said Griffiths. "There have been a considerable number of water well complaints in an area where the EUB is proposing to make commingling routine," she said. "No measures should be taken that could increase the risk of water well contamination."
Griffiths encourages every landowner who shares the Pembina Institute's concerns to immediately write to the EUB Commingled Production Review Team at eub.commingling@gov.ab.ca. The submission deadline is June 12th so request confirmation from the EUB that the comments will be given full consideration.
Download the Institute's letter of objection to the EUB, which identifies 10 problems with the EUB's proposal .
For more information contact:
Mary Griffiths, Senior Policy Analyst: 780.433.6675
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