Isra-Mart srl:Alberta politicians battle over carbon storage

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Two Alberta political heavyweights are at odds when it comes to carbon capture and storage, following a Saskatchewan couple’s complaints that their property has been polluted by the process.

Cameron and Jane Kerr say they noticed several dead animal carcasses and polluted water on their farm about a year after Calgary-based Cenovus Energy started injecting carbon into nearby ground.

The couple wants the Saskatchewan government and Cenovus to do an extensive review.

The company says reviews have been done and nothing to back up the couple’s claims has been found.

Alberta Energy Minister Ron Liepert tells 660News he’s not ready to jump to any conclusions based on this one incident and would like to wait for the Saskatchewan authorities monitoring the situation to report back on their findings.

He says Alberta companies are very safe about using carbon capture and storage technology.

“It’s been recognized internationally by scientists and agencies that have been involved in carbon capture and storage in many countries around the world, that [Alberta companies] have been doing it for years and doing it safely,” he says.

But Wildrose Alliance Leader Danielle Smith tells 660News what’s happening in Saskatchewan should raise a red flag in Alberta and it’s time to yank the province’s $2-billion investment in the technology.

“Carbon capture and storage technology is in its infancy and that’s not to say that the industry won’t be able to figure it out someday,” she says. “What we’re concerned about though is when government decides that they’re going to step in and use taxpayer dollars to fund speculative projects and that’s what they’ve done.”