B.C. residents now able to identify orphan and inactive wells

FORT ST. JOHN–British Columbians will now be able to identify orphan and inactive well sites for priority reclamation as part of B.C.’s effort to clean up wells while creating jobs in the province.

“By prioritizing the reclamation of orphan and inactive wells chosen by the public, we’re making use of local knowledge as we clean up the environment and create jobs for B.C. workers.”–Bruce Ralston, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources

A release by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources says that specific dormant and orphan sites can be nominated by the public until Sept. 30 of this year, online. Earlier this year the Government of Canada announced it was investing $120 million in funding for B.C.to help support the restoration of oil and gas sites, as part of its COVID-19 industry support.

“There are thousands of well sites on our Treaty lands that are waiting to be reclaimed and restored. We welcome any initiative that finally starts to focus attention and resources on restoring those lands. A process for nominating sites is a start, but there is much more work to do on these issues. We look forward to working with the Province and others on programs that include Indigenous perspectives on restoration standards and Indigenous participation in restoration activities. We have experience, knowledge and skills to share and it is only by working together that we can make the dormant and orphan well site reclamation programs successful.”–Chief Justin Napoleon, Saulteau First Nation