Woodlands County will send a letter to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) asking the independent organization to take into consideration any unpaid taxes owed by energy companies to municipalities before granting them a licence for an oil and gas operation.
At their Jan. 19 meeting, Woodlands County council had approved a resolution for consideration at the next Zone 3 meeting of the Rural Municipalities Association (RMA).
This resolution called on the RMA to lobby the Alberta Energy Regulator to take unpaid municipal taxes before obtaining a licence through the AER.
As mayor John Burrows pointed out on Jan. 19, this means an energy company could owe millions of dollars to a municipality and the AER would not even factor in that debt when deciding whether or not to grant a licence.
This resolution was approved at the Zone 3 meeting and will eventually be voted on by the larger RMA membership at the association’s spring convention.
However, at the Feb. 2 council meeting, chief administrative officer Gordon Frank presented another possible avenue to lobby the AER, as the regulator is currently seeking feedback on an updated draft of the organization’s Directive 067: Eligibility Requirements for Acquiring Holding Energy Licences and Approvals.
This draft directive includes new requirements for financial information to assess a licensee’s eligibility, such as whether the proposed licensee has outstanding debt with the AER.
However, it doesn’t take into consideration any outstanding municipal, provincial or federal taxes owed by the applicant, Frank said.
It was administration’s recommendation to forward Woodlands’ resolution on to the AER in the form of a letter before they finalize Directive 067.
The letter would ask for this directive to be amended so that outstanding municipal, provincial and federal taxes would be factored into any decision to grant a licence to an oil and gas company.
Burrows noted that the timing of the AER’s request for feedback was “certainly serendipitous” given how recently Woodlands County had created this resolution. He then put forward the motion to send the letter.
After the motion was unanimously passed, Coun. Ron Govenlock noted he had put forward a request at the Jan. 19 meeting to invite both of the MLAs who represent Woodlands County to a future meeting to discuss this matter. He then asked Frank what the status of that invitation was.
Frank said they had heard back from West Yellowhead Martin Long and he intended to attend the next council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 16.
They had not yet heard back from Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken but hoped that he would also be able to join council on that date.
Woodlands County will send a letter to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) asking the independent organization to take into consideration any unpaid taxes owed by energy companies to municipalities before granting them a licence for an oil and gas operation.
At their Jan. 19 meeting, Woodlands County council had approved a resolution for consideration at the next Zone 3 meeting of the Rural Municipalities Association (RMA).
This resolution called on the RMA to lobby the Alberta Energy Regulator to take unpaid municipal taxes before obtaining a licence through the AER.
As mayor John Burrows pointed out on Jan. 19, this means an energy company could owe millions of dollars to a municipality and the AER would not even factor in that debt when deciding whether or not to grant a licence.
This resolution was approved at the Zone 3 meeting and will eventually be voted on by the larger RMA membership at the association’s spring convention.
However, at the Feb. 2 council meeting, chief administrative officer Gordon Frank presented another possible avenue to lobby the AER, as the regulator is currently seeking feedback on an updated draft of the organization’s Directive 067: Eligibility Requirements for Acquiring and Holding Energy Licences and Approvals.
This draft directive includes new requirements for financial information to assess a licensee’s eligibility, such as whether the proposed licensee has outstanding debt with the AER.
However, it doesn’t take into consideration any outstanding municipal, provincial or federal taxes owed by the applicant, Frank said.
It was administration’s recommendation to forward Woodlands’ resolution on to the AER in the form of a letter before they finalize Directive 067.
The letter would ask for this directive to be amended so that outstanding municipal, provincial and federal taxes would be factored into any decision to grant a licence to an oil and gas company.
Burrows noted that the timing of the AER’s request for feedback was “certainly serendipitous” given how recently Woodlands County had created this resolution. He then put forward the motion to send the letter.
After the motion was unanimously passed, Coun. Ron Govenlock noted he had put forward a request at the Jan. 19 meeting to invite both of the MLAs who represent Woodlands County to a future meeting to discuss this matter. He then asked Frank what the status of that invitation was.
Frank said they had heard back from West Yellowhead Martin Long and he intended to attend the next council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 16.
They had not yet heard back from Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken but hoped that he would also be able to join council on that date.
