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Alberta eases security payment burden for oilsands companies

This Sept. 19, 2011 aerial photo shows an oilsands mine facility near Fort McMurray, in Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Alberta is changing how it calculates the payments oilsands mines make to ensure there’s enough money to clean up the mess they leave behind.

The province says the decision is in reaction to low oil prices last year, which briefly reached negative values.

Lisa Fairweather of Alberta Environment says keeping the old program would have cost the industry billions of extra dollars, even though the environmental risk of the mines hasn’t changed.

Click to play video: 'Alberta Energy Regulator suspends some environmental requirements'
Alberta Energy Regulator suspends some environmental requirements

She says today’s move is temporary until a complete review of environmental security payments is held this summer.

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Critics say the changes will reduce payments into a cleanup fund that the auditor general has said is already too low.

Under the changes, Alberta will no longer calculate payments based on a company’s environmental liabilities and its assets.

Instead, the calculation will be based on a company’s revenue.

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