Liability for well abandonment, reclamation, release of substances and contaminated sites in Alberta: Does the polluter or beneficiary pay

This thesis is concerned with liability for cleaning up environmental damage caused by oil and gas activities in Alberta. Specifically, it considers four types of liability: liability for well abandonment, reclamation, release of substances and contaminated sites. It explores whether the current Alberta liability regime is consistent with the views from the literature on liability for environmental clean-up. It focuses upon three main issues: societal versus individual responsibility; grounds upon which to base liability; and the apportionment of liability amongst responsible persons.;After a detailed consideration of the liability regime applicable to well abandonment, reclamation, substance releases and contaminated sites in Alberta, this thesis concludes that this regime finds support in the literature on some issues only. In particular, on the issue of grounds upon which to impose liability, the current liability regime does not follow the most popular principles identified in the literature---those of "polluter" and "beneficiary" pays.