EDMONTON - Nearly a year after 500 ducks died in toxic oilsands sludge, Alberta's energy regulator is directing companies to eliminate dozens of lake-sized tailings ponds over several decades.
Oilsands processors have until Sept. 30 to file plans with Alberta's Energy Resources Conservation Board, including a timeline for closing the tailings ponds.
This massive undertaking will eventually see billions of litres of toxic water and sludge drained and the area covered with grass and trees.
But oilsands companies are already wincing at the size of this job.
"It's generally viewed as being a pretty challenging directive," said Jake Irving, executive-director of the Oilsands Developers Group. "It will be difficult for our member companies."
The environmental image of Alberta's northern oilsands took a pounding last spring as pictures of dead and dying ducks flashed around the world. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada's international reputation had been harmed.
The sprawling oilsands projects had already been the subject of protests in both North America and Europe. Maude Barlow, head of the Council of Canadians, flew over the oilsands last summer and compared the landscape to Mordor from the movie Lord of the Rings.
The tailings ponds have collected an estimated 720-billion litres of liquid and solid wastes left behind from processing tar-like bitumen over the last four decades.
One estimate says that amount could fill 220,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.
A recent Pembina Institute study said the ponds have grown so large that they can be seen from space. Simon Dyer, who prepared the study, said reclamation will likely be a very slow process.
"This is clearly long overdue," said Dyer. "But we don't actually know if companies will be successful. Tailings are one of the most pressing threats to the reputation of the oilsands industry."
Dyer said until long-term strategies for disposing of tailings are proven viable, Alberta should stop approving new oilsands mining projects.
"I think we have to see whether or not there is enforcement and whether this does actually make a difference," he said.
Alberta Energy Minister Mel Knight said this directive sends a clear message that the oilsands industry needs to do a better job of using technology to reduce the amount of tailings being produced.
"I don't think that it was our objective in the first place to go out and try to get the world's attention," said Knight, who refused to talk about the 500 ducks that died in a Syncrude Canada tailings pond.
"The market community internationally is going to see that the province of Alberta is very serious about how we move forward with respect to development that is environmentally friendly."
Although the dead ducks incident has been under investigation for months, there has still been no announcement on whether Syncrude will be charged.
Environment Minister Rob Renner insisted there's no link between this directive and the waterfowl disaster last spring because the new regulations have been in the works for years.
"The two are not related," Renner said. "There isn't a connection."
Liberal environment critic Laurie Blakeman said there's clearly a connection and the government can't ignore that fact.
The Liberals are calling the directive a good first step, but Blakeman said enforcement will be the key to how quickly the tailings ponds disappear.
"They just don't want to admit that they had anything to do with those ducks dying," said Blakeman. "It's a smear on their reputation."
Sheremata said oilsands companies have failed to meet their targets in the past for eliminating tailings ponds, but now Alberta's energy regulator will have a variety of enforcement options.
Greenpeace activist Mike Hudema said it's nice to see some type of tailings regulation after 40 years, but he'd like to see a move towards complete elimination of liquid tailings.
"It's really going to be a wait-and-see approach to see how effective the new regulations are," said Hudema, who points at the lack of enforcement of existing regulations.
"Nine months after the duck incident we still have no charges being laid against Syncrude."
The first tailings pond to be reclaimed in more than 40 years will be completed sometime next year by Suncor Energy. Suncor still has nine other tailings ponds in operation.
Suncor spokeswoman Shawn Davis called the new requirements ambitious. She said the company will do whatever is required to meet its regulatory obligations.
"We're confident that we will be able to meet the directive, but it's certainly not going to be easy," said Davis.
The directive also calls on oilsands producers to curb liquid tailings by finding other disposal methods, such as pumping them into abandoned bitumen mines.
