On April 1, 2026, the Government of Alberta announced a new Oil and Gas Conservation Regulation that empowers the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) to enact enforcement measures against oil and gas operators that fail to adequately manage and treat weeds on their wellsites.
This regulation, made under the Oil and Gas Conservation Act, makes Reasonable Care and Measures Orders (RCAM) applicable to the Responsible Energy Development Act and the Weed Control Act. The new regulation took effect on May 1, 2026.
RCAM orders are meant to function as a final measure once municipal enforcement tools such as weed notices have been exhausted. Municipalities are not required to have incurred weed control costs to proceed with filing an RCAM referral.
Municipalities may initiate the RCAM referral process by submitting a referral form. Further information is available on the AER website.
NEW: Cost-recovery for weed control surrounding orphaned wells
While the Government of Alberta initially indicated that cost recovery would not be available for municipalities that spray weeds on wellsites, RMA has learned that cost recovery is now available for municipalities conducting weed control surrounding orphaned wellsites, as the OWA has committed to funding cost recovery for municipal weed management of orphaned wells through their operating budget.
RCAM orders are only eligible for wellsites under the AER’s authority; as such, an RCAM order referral is not required to support cost recovery on orphaned sites.
Municipalities seeking cost recovery for weed control surrounding orphan wellsites are encouraged to contact Joshua Melzer at Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation to initiate the cost-recovery process and help determine wellsites that are best suited to the OWA’s cost-recovery process or the AER’s RCAM process: joshua.melzer@gov.ab.ca.
At this point, details of how the cost recovery process will be structured, including eligibility, verification of costs incurred, and application mechanisms are not yet known. RMA will share additional detail with members as they become available.
For more information, contact RMA’s Policy and Advocacy Team at advocacy@rmalberta.com or 825.319.2383.