Infrastructure Can't Keep Pace Alberta's Oil Sands Development

Alberta's energy regulator warned the provincial government it has a "short window of opportunity" to invest in roads and other infrastructure in the Fort McMurray region to keep up with unprecedented oil sands development.

It is the first time such recommendations have been made by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, though the regulator did highlight potential infrastructure challenges several years ago.

The recommendations were made after the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray, questioned the wild pace of oil sands growth this summer at public hearings to discuss the Suncor expansion. The region said development was too uncontrolled and hurting the area, the people, the air, the roads, the schools, and the health care system.

The regulator's advice to the government is part of a growing political and social awareness in Alberta that oil sands development could be out of control, and a far stricter plan may be required to manage the myriad issues."