US EditionAlberta to explore injecting oilsands tailings underground as one management option
- On June 12, 2025, The Canadian Press reported that Alberta is exploring a proposal to allow oil companies to dispose of wastewater by injecting it into deep underground formations as part of efforts to address the growing problem of toxic tailings in the oilsands.
- This consideration follows a government-appointed committee’s report, formed over a year ago and chaired by MLA Tany Yao, which identified underground injection as a practical solution among five options.
- The report highlights that tailings volumes have surpassed 1.4 trillion litres by 2023, suggests disposing of them beneath layers of impermeable rock to safeguard drinking water sources, and calls for policy reforms to promote wastewater sharing among oil mining operations to decrease reliance on fresh water.
- Yao expressed confidence that existing technology can effectively treat tailings water for safe reuse, while Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz announced that her ministry will review the committee’s recommendations over the coming six months before introducing an updated plan for managing tailings.
- Critics like Sarah Elmeligi and Alienor Rougeot warned that injecting tailings underground risks groundwater and geological stability and does not adequately address long-term environmental and Indigenous community impacts.
23 Articles
23 Articles
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Alberta to explore injecting oilsands tailings underground as one management option
The Alberta government says it is considering letting oil companies inject wastewater deep underground as a way to manage the toxic tailings that are accumulating in the oilsands. The idea is one of five policy recommendations being put forward by a government-appointed committee tasked with studyin...
Alberta to explore injecting oil sands tailings underground as one management option
The Alberta government says it is considering letting oil companies inject wastewater deep underground as a way to manage the toxic tailings that are accumulating in the oil sands. The idea is one of five being put forward by a government-appointed committee tasked with studying potential tailings management options. A new report from the committee […]
Using science and technology to reduce tailings ponds – Water Canada
Under the leadership of former premier Peter Lougheed, Alberta harnessed advances in technology to drive development and innovation in the oil sands. That work was critical in allowing Canada and the world to benefit from some of our province’s greatest natural resources. Fifty years later, Alberta is again looking to innovators and knowledge-keepers to help develop long-term solutions to the mine water challenge. Over the last year, the Oil San…
The cost of environment. - The Chestermere Anchor
Where is Alberta with the polluter pays law in the clean up of an estimated 78000 Orphan wells with a current estimated 100 billion to clean up along with tailing ponds that have seen leakage issues, an estimated 1.4 trillion litres of toxic fluids including dangerous levels of mercury, arsenic, lead, ammonia, benzene and naphthenic… Read More » The post The cost of environment. first appeared on The Chestermere Anchor.
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