Alberta Energy Regulator to reconsider Suncor tailings plan it rejected
CALGARY — Alberta’s energy watchdog has agreed to reconsider a plan by Suncor Energy to clean up its tailings ponds so as to take into account new technology the oilsands giant plans to use.
The Alberta Energy Regulator in March denied the Calgary-based company’s plan for its Millennium mine. But the regulator said in a letter to a Suncor vice-president this week that it has reviewed the company’s request for reconsideration and decided that it would be appropriate in this case.
Tailings ponds contain waste resulting from oilsands extraction and contain water, fine clay particles, residual bitumen and other chemicals. Alberta Energy estimates oilsands mining projects had created about 220 square kilometres of tailings ponds by the end of 2013.
Suncor (TSX:SU) had proposed to treat 75 per cent of its Millennium mine’s tailings by clumping fine particles together and covering that material with fresh water.