VICTORIA, B.C. – Today, all BC NDP MLAs present voted in favour of exempting oil and gas permit holders from the requirement to clean up dormant well sites on time. The government caucus voted against removing Clause 32 of Bill 21, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), that made changes to the Oil and Gas Activities Act.
“The BC NDP voted to give yet another break to oil and gas companies, allowing them more flexibility on dormant well clean-ups,” said Sonia Furstenau, leader of the BC Greens and MLA for Cowichan Valley. “Putting this exemption in by Regulation is a shameless attempt to avoid legislative accountability and public scrutiny.
“This is the wrong decision to make in the midst of a global ecological crisis. The work of clean-up should be the sole responsibility of oil and gas companies and we should be requiring them to clean up on time.
“We know from recent studies that dormant wells can emit millions of kilograms of methane each year that they are left to sit. It is unacceptable at this point in the climate crisis to be letting oil and gas producers off the hook for the timely cleanup of their sites, and it is unacceptable for the BC NDP government to be making these changes away from parliamentary debate.”
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