{"id":2580,"date":"2013-05-09T20:41:51","date_gmt":"2013-05-09T20:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rrroca.org\/en\/?p=2580"},"modified":"2026-02-23T05:37:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:37:27","slug":"province-to-complete-review-on-urban-oil-drilling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rrroca.org\/en\/province-to-complete-review-on-urban-oil-drilling\/","title":{"rendered":"Province to complete review on urban oil drilling"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_2581\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2581\" alt=\"Ward Sutherland, president of the Rocky Ridge Royal Oak Community Association, stands in a field behind the Royal Oak shopping centre where an oil well has been proposed. Sutherland says it\u2019s time the government revise outdated energy policies and take into account concerns of residents. \" class=\"size-full wp-image-2581\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/rrroca.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/8357950.jpg\" width=\"590\"\/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2581\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ward Sutherland, president of the Rocky Ridge Royal Oak Community Association, stands in a field behind the Royal Oak shopping centre where an oil well has been proposed. Sutherland says it\u2019s time the government revise <a href=\"https:\/\/secretfo.rest\/sexual-performance-boosters-questions-safety-and-what-really-works\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">outdated energy policies<\/a> and take into account concerns of residents.<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>Planned well in Calgary suburb sparks controversy<\/h4>\n<p>Nearly a year after controversy flared over plans to drill an oil well in a growing northwest Calgary suburb, Alberta\u2019s energy minister promises the province will complete a review of the rules surrounding energy development in urban areas by the end of 2013.<\/p>\n<p>Energy Minister Ken Hughes said he\u2019s asked his department\u2019s new policy management office to study the broader issues regarding drilling in developed areas across Alberta, such as cities or built-up rural regions.<\/p>\n<p>A motion was recently passed in the legislature to \u201cestablish a working group to review whether adequate policies are in place for urban communities with regard to oil and gas development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hughes also promised to examine the issue last June following community protests for a proposed sweet oil well on a site off Country Hills Boulevard near a Walmart store, and his department is now moving ahead with the review.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll be turning this over to the policy management office to consult with people with respect to not just urban drilling, but drilling in more intensely developed areas,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still see this as an important point in the history of the province to take a look at this and develop a policy because increasingly, there will be the potential for conflict between development and residents,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<p>The move comes as the province is creating a single energy regulator that will oversee regulations of oil, natural gas and coal developments.<\/p>\n<p>It also takes place against the backdrop of urban communities growing rapidly throughout the province and an energy sector that drills thousands of wells each year \u2014 potentially leading to more disputes between industry, landowners and municipalities.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Lethbridge city council adopted a resolution last November opposing energy drilling and production within the city\u2019s boundaries, saying it would effectively \u201csterilize\u201d developable urban land.<\/p>\n<p>In Calgary, Kaiser Exploration Ltd. holds a licence to drill an exploratory oil well on Crown land in northwest Calgary just behind a shopping centre. But the company has faced fierce community opposition.<\/p>\n<p>Ward Sutherland, president of the Rocky Ridge Royal Oak Community Association, said residents are concerned about the proximity of the well, its \u201csetback\u201d from the nearest buildings and other issues involving traffic, noise and safety impacts.<\/p>\n<p>The group has been talking with the area MLA, Progressive Conservative Sandra Jansen, and is waiting for negotiations between government departments to find a different drilling site that\u2019s more acceptable to all parties.<\/p>\n<p>Sutherland said he\u2019s hopeful a compromise can be found, but has little confidence the current energy regulator would rule against the well proceeding.<\/p>\n<p>As for the province\u2019s new drilling strategy review, he said it\u2019s time the government revise outdated energy policies and take into account the concerns of residents who live near such developments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really feel like a pioneer. We\u2019re the new frontier to say, why are we taking 20-year-old rules and using them now?\u201d Sutherland said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"2\">\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s really take a look at what\u2019s right for everybody. That includes the energy industry. It\u2019s a vital part of our economy and we\u2019re aware of that. We\u2019re not against it, we just need to do it in a responsible way. \u201cThe only way that\u2019s going to happen is by having responsible regulations \u2014 and they didn\u2019t exist for urban areas,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Ned Beattie, Kaiser\u2019s general manager, said he thinks the company selected the most appropriate site, noting it\u2019s more than 100 metres away from any surface development and more than 400 metres from nearby homes.<\/p>\n<p>The company\u2019s well has a licence and meets current regulations, but the petroleum producer is willing to see if the various government departments involved can find a solution.<\/p>\n<p>However, the conflict with residents is a \u201csign of the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a group of people who want to characterize this as being menacing to the public, which there\u2019s no technical evidence for that at all,\u201d Beattie said. \u201cThere has definitely gotten to be well-organized opposition to all aspects of the oil and gas business &#8230; I could see this in Montreal. Whoever thought that in Calgary you\u2019d have opposition to an oil well?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jansen, who sponsored the urban drilling review motion that passed in the legislature in late April, said she thinks three possible alternative sites have been identified for the well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone has to be happy with it, and the community has to feel comfortable with it too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an issue in Lethbridge, this is an issue in Medicine Hat, there are resources underneath urban areas all over the province.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I think we really do have to get to a place where that discussion happens and everybody is comfortable with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David Pryce, vice-president of operations at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said in a statement his group has not made any specific recommendations to the province about the broader review and is unclear about its scope, but will work with the province on it.<\/p>\n<p>Wildrose MLA Jason Hale, who supported Jansen\u2019s motion, said the new Alberta Energy Regulator, which starts up in June, should examine issues such as appropriate \u201csetback\u201d spaces between wells, homes or other buildings. But the Tory government must also address the lack of faith some landowners have in the impartiality of the province to ensure \u201cthose voices are heard,\u201d he said. \u201cWith the growth of our urban areas and rural areas, we need to ensure public safety is No. 1,\u201d he added. \u201cPeople &#8230; have legitimate concerns, they\u2019re concerned for the safety of their families and their communities \u2014 and those concerns must be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Planned well in Calgary suburb sparks controversy Nearly a year after controversy flared over plans to drill an oil well in a growing northwest Calgary suburb, Alberta\u2019s energy minister promises the province will complete a review of the rules surrounding energy development in urban areas by the end of 2013. Energy Minister Ken Hughes said [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-planning-and-development"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Province to complete review on urban oil drilling - Rocky Ridge Royal Oak Community Association Calgary Canada<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rrroca.org\/en\/province-to-complete-review-on-urban-oil-drilling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Province to complete review on urban oil drilling - Rocky Ridge Royal Oak Community Association Calgary Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Planned well in Calgary suburb sparks controversy Nearly a year after controversy flared over plans to drill an oil well in a growing northwest Calgary suburb, Alberta\u2019s energy minister promises the province will complete a review of the rules surrounding energy development in urban areas by the end of 2013. 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