SEPT/OCT 2014
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“Regulation is complicated. We want to sim-
plify it and make sure that people understand
that yes, in fact, in Alberta the regulations are
there, the public is protected and the environ-
ment is protected and resources are protected
as well,” he told
Business Elite Canada.
Energy regulation in Alberta spans more than
75 years. In 2013 the AER was created as a new
organization that took on regulatory functions
related to energy development, which were
previously held by Alberta Environmental and
Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD).
The AER is now the single regulator of ener-
gy development in Alberta—from application
and exploration, to construction and develop-
ment, to abandonment, reclamation and re-
mediation.
Comprehensive regulation is not new to the
industry. Over the decades AER has overcome
many challenges in the industry as an inde-
pendent regulator. Regulation put an end to
massive wasteful flaring and venting of natural
gas from flare stacks on private properties in
the Turner Valley in southern Alberta and else-
