OWA gives update on decommissioning of leaking orphan well in northern Alberta, The Orphan Well Association (OWA) is addressing a methane leak from an orphan well from the 1960s that was found in the Town of Bonnyville in the 4500 block between 45th and 46th Avenue by Corrina Dickens, Jun 3, 2025, St Albert Gazette
BONNYVILLE – The Orphan Well Association (OWA) is addressing a methane leak from an orphan well from the 1960s that was found in the Town of Bonnyville in the 4500 block between 45th and 46th Avenue.
On May 29, The Town of Bonnyville posted an update from the OWA, sharing their plans to monitor the wells and the need to demolish two homes in order to properly decommission the well.
“The OWA wants to ensure nearby residents and other stakeholders are informed of our ongoing safety efforts, and the pending repair and decommissioning plans for the well,” said the OWA.
The OWA explained that in June of 2024, a methane leak had been found in the well.
“In response, the wellbore was located and excavated, and a monitoring and mitigation program was implemented to regularly check gas levels in the vicinity of the wellbore,” said the OWA.
The Alberta Energy Regulator directed the OWA to decommission the well, and the OWA is monitoring methane levels in the area.
“Mitigation systems have been installed in eight homes that safely
??? Ask Bruce Jack (above photos) how safely that turned out for him with his methane contaminated well water after the Alberta gov’t instructed him to vent the methane out via professional mitigation systemcapture any methane and vent it to the atmosphere. These systems are working as designed and along with other monitoring and detection systems are ensuring all homes and areas around the well remain safe,” said the OWA.
OWA: The organization bankrupting Alberta via letting rich oil and gas boys walk from clean up and life-threatening unhealthy methane, ethane, sour gas and other leaks throughout the province including many in cities like Medicine Hat, Calgary, Calmar, Edmonton, Bonnyville, etc.
The OWA said they have purchased the affected homes and are working to secure permits to ensure the houses are demolished safely. Demolition is set to begin within the next few months.I thought we have a severe housing shortage in Alberta – Trudeau’s fault supposedly according to Danielle Smith et al. Did OWA force the families living in those homes to sign charter-violating gag orders (NDAs)? Who provided the money to buy these homes and relocate the families? Struggling Alberta taxpayers? Did the families find homes to live in or are they added to the list of homeless – all because of Trudeau?
“Once the homes have been removed, additional material will be brought to the site to prepare an adequate pad area for positioning of a drilling rig,” said the OWA.Sounds like a repeat of Calmar and I expect this attempt to fix the leak will also fail and likely make the leak worse too. Do you know that the Calgary airport was allowed to build a new runway over a leaking abandoned energy well in the city? How long until a plane load of people goes kaboom?
The drilling rig will come in during July or August of 2025 to decommission the well, and will operate 24 hours per day for two to three days.I wouldn’t trust that for a second. Count on weeks of noise, toxic fumes, invasive industrial trucks and stadium lights keeping you and yours up all night, and vibrations shaking you and yours insane for weeks.
The OWA said they will try but fail grotesquely because they only care about money, and not spending much when it comes to fixing their messes, and the industry’s greed – if they actually tried instead of spewed meaningless words there would be limited noise and light. Mitigation of harms costs money. to minimize the impacts of the noise and light as much as possible.
Moving the drilling rig to the location will take over 20 truckloads, and residents can expect traffic control measures implemented along 46th Avenue with some localized parking restrictions.
Once decommissioned, the site will be monitored for an unknown amount of time.Not as long as OWA and AER exist? What fucking shit show is this? Oh right. Alberta’s (hint, not Trudeau’s). They of course (from vast experience) know they will not be able to permanently stop the leak – they’ll put on a nice noisy polluting show, promise the world, then, after a time, stop testing and ride off into the Petroleum Club sunset as our province dries up from fossil fuel industry pollution (notably unburned leaking methane) induced climate change caused drought and fires destroy more and more and more and more as they become faster, spreader further, more furious, and devastatingly destructive.
“During monitoring, the wellhead will remain in place and the site will be secured through the installation of a fence.Woopity doo. I bet kids will find their way in.Once monitoring has confirmed the dissipation of methane, the well will cutoff below grade and the site recontoured and landscaped to Town of Bonnyville specifications,” said the OWA.
What strange wording, “the dissipation.” Is it to confuse the known fact that energy wells always end up leaking and fixes usually make leaks worse? Will this land also now be too dangerous for future human housing? Are OWA, AER and the industry fed up with paying to sort of try to fix a few of the worst leakers in the most embarrassing locations (communities)? Lots of Pomp, little real repair?
To ensure open communication about the project, the OWA is hosting an open house at the Bonnyville Seniors Centre (Pioneer Hall) on June 12 from 5 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.
The OWA said to contact them with any questions or concerns about the project.Please someone, contact the OWA and ask how much they paid for the two homes and relocating the families and if they even found homes for them, and who ends up paying. If it’s tax payers, then those poor families will end up paying a portion of the demolition of their homes. Gross incompetence by a terrible industry, even worse self regulator, and much worse Alberta (not Trudeau) gov’ts enabling decades of polluting crimes.
Refer also to:
… The former Ely property sits less than a mile south from another polluted residential property on Carter Road that Cabot bought for $140,000 from Craig and Julie Sautner last year. Cabot demolished the three-bedroom ranch in September and sold the empty lot to a neighbor for $4,000. The new deed includes a clause – called a land covenant — that forbids residential dwellings on the property. Cabot bought both the Sautner and Ely properties through a subsidiary called Susquehanna Real Estate 1 Corp. …
2012: Are leaking wells letting methane get into Dimock’s water?