Alberta oilfield company sanctioned $450K for illegal storage of industrial sewage

CBC

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An Alberta oilfield services company has been fined nearly $450,000 for unsafely storing and illegally profiting from industrial sewage it was not authorized to accept.
In a decision issued last week, Red Deer-based Terroco Industries Ltd. was penalized by the Alberta Energy Regulator for a string of infractions dating back to the summer of 2023.
The investigation found the company was unlawfully profiting from the storage of industrial sewage at its subsurface well disposal site in Stettler, Alta. The sewage from an agricultural-based industrial facility was incompatible with the company's licence and disposing of such highly-concentrated waste within a deep injection well is strictly prohibited.
The company's founder and CEO, Terrance O'Connor, admitted to the contraventions but blamed either his own staff or third parties who had supplied the fluid for the infractions.
In response to the investigation, O'Connor made conflict of interest allegations against an AER inspector and claimed the regulator had no jurisdiction over his company because he's Indigenous.
The regulator rejected those allegations and ruled Terroco Industries was alone responsible for the waste it accepted.
The company has not responded to requests for comment.
Unapproved sewage
The AER investigation identified five key contraventions centred on the company's Stettler disposal well, which the company has owned since the 1980s.
Stettler is about 80 kilometres east of Red Deer.
The most significant violation was accepting and disposing of unapproved industrial sewage.
The investigation found the company unlawfully accepted 14,196 cubic metres of wastewater over 40 days in June and August 2023.
The name of the facility that generated the waste, the trucking company that delivered it, and the names of some AER officials are redacted from the regulator's decision.
The contravention was deemed a "major" infraction due to the risk to environmental and human health.
By accepting unapproved substances, in this case unapproved waste, effective regulatory oversight by the AER cannot occur.
One of the wastewater samples confirmed the presence of polyfluoroalkyl substances, often referred to as "forever chemicals."
PFSAs are a complex group of long-lasting synthetic chemicals known to cause adverse environmental and health effects.
Industrial sewage contains significant amounts of non-human waste and higher concentrations of pollutants than domestic sewage and under Alberta legislation, disposal of such waste through subsurface injection is strictly prohibited.
"When unapproved waste is received by a disposal facility, there is a potential for an increased risk of an adverse effect to the environment and human health, the full effects may not be known for some time," the AER decision reads.
"By accepting unapproved substances, in this case unapproved waste, effective regulatory oversight by the AER cannot occur."
Storage tank trouble
The investigation also found several deficiencies related to an above-ground storage tank where industrial sewage was held.
These included operating the tank without a secondary containment system, leak detection or a spill control device. The tank's foundation was also found to be improperly designed, elevating the risk that it could topple over.
The company was fined for illegally generating revenue from its storage of the unauthorized waste, resulting in $298,980 of an administrative penalty. The fine was also increased due to the degree of "willful negligence" demonstrated by the company.
The total fine was $448,980.
Terroco Industries had failed to abide by previous warnings about its operational requirements, the investigation found.
AER also noted that it discovered shipping receipts, known as bill of lading tickets, that "appear to have been altered" to align with approved waste types for the facility.
Company officials denied it had attempted to misidentify the shipments, but told the regulator it would investigate whether others had attempted to mislead the company about the classification of waste.
In a written submission, the company's CEO requested a "fair and just review" with a reduction of the penalty to more accurately reflect Terroco's "shortcomings in judgment and due diligence that were exploited by others."
O'Connor said the AER investigation was influenced by "personal ties."
He also expressed concern the AER was only addressing letters to him, that the focus of the investigation was on him, and suggested that one of his staff felt threatened by an AER inspector — claims the regulator denied outright.
From the source
Company officials told investigators that it had agreed to accept the unapproved waste after discussions with an individual from a trucking company who was hauling waste for another facility.
Officials told AER that they "wrongly interpreted" the willingness of the trucking company to deliver waste to Terroco Industries to mean that the fluid was suitable for disposal.
O'Connor told investigators he believed the company "had something to do with cattle" but assumed that brine water was being disposed of.
According to the investigation, the manager of the Stettler facility said he had been given no formal training and had to learn "as he went."
"The onus for screening the incoming waste was largely put on the consignor and trucking companies rather than Terroco, itself," the AER report reads.
"Terroco's site managers at the Stettler facility confirmed that there was a lack of formalized training, a lack of knowledge about the difference between the classes of disposal wells and an inexperience with the disposal requirements."
Jurisdiction challenged
At a July 2025 meeting between the company and the regulator, Terroco Industries challenged AER's jurisdiction.
According to the AER report, O'Connor read aloud a document which he brought titled "oral proclamation" and provided printed copies to those in attendance.
That document "goes on to state that as Terrance is a Sovereign Indigenous Person, the AER has 'no jurisdiction to adjudicate this case', and that he trusts the AER will 'drop all charges.'"
According to the AER, company officials did not provide new evidence during the meeting but did say there was a relatively small volume of "wash water" inside the tank and not industrial sewage.
Based on the company's claim about wash water, some of the infraction fines were adjusted. But the regulator rejected the rest of the claims, while affirming the AER's jurisdiction over the company.
The regulator found that no conflict of interest exists and that the investigation was comprehensive, unbiased and fair.
"Terroco, as the licensee, is ultimately responsible for understanding the type of waste received and how it is managed," the report said.