Alberta auditor asks if oilsands cleanup properly funded

EDMONTON – Alberta’s auditor general says the government hasn’t done a very good job of ensuring oilsands companies are setting aside enough money to clean up gigantic mines at the end of their life.

In a report released Monday, Merwan Saher suggests that may be putting Albertans at risk for at least some of the costs involved in attempting to rehabilitate the landscape after the miners are done.

His report says current rules allow companies to overestimate the value of their resources and that allows them to delay saving up to pay the huge costs of cleaning up a mine.