An oilfield waste disposal site in Brazeau County is being brought before the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board on allegations that they are not operating in a safe manner.
Waste management company Secure Energy Services operates the Pembina Landfill, located in Brazeau County approximately 20 km west of the hamlet of Cynthia. The Pembina Landfill was given approval to operate last September, but will once again be on the docket for the Environmental Appeals Board on Sept. 29 and 30, 2022.
It is one of the few disposal sites in Alberta that is authorized by the province to accept Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM).
NORM is frequently dug up as part of routine oilfield operations. While the level of radiation is usually harmless, NORM can present a problem when a large enough quantity is gathered. That is when it needs to be taken to a safe disposal site.
The province granted approval for Secure Energy to begin accepting NORM at the Pembina Landfill in 2016. The decision was appealed by NormTek Radiation Services. NormTek is an Alberta company that specializes in NORM management.
In their appeal, NormTek alleged that Secure Energy disposes of NORM in an environmentally unsafe manner that is inconsistent with national and international guidelines, and violates best practices of radiation safety. Allowing Secure Energy to continue would damage NormTek economically and NormTek’s interests in the regulation of NORM.
The Alberta Environmental Appeals Board ruled in favour of Secure Energy in 2018, saying that NormTek’s allegations had no standing. NormTek appealed the decision to the Alberta Court of Appeals. In 2020, the Court of Appeals ruled NormTek’s concerns did have standing, and the case was referred back to the Environmental Appeals Board.
While this was going on, the province granted several extensions to Secure Energy’s permit to accept NORM. First in 2019, again in 2020, and then two more times in 2021. Those extensions were appealed by NormTek as well, citing their concerns in their initial case had not yet been addressed.
Any party that wishes to address the board on this matter must get their request in by July 19, 2022. To submit your request, or to find out more about this case, call the Environmental Appeals Board at 780-427-6207.
Our newsroom reached out to Secure Energy for this story, but were told, “no comment.”
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