Alberta regulator lays charges in 2023 workplace fatality at fracking site
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. faces 18 counts under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act following the October 2023 drowning death of a contractor at a northern Alberta fracking pond.
The Calgary-based oil and gas company has been charged in connection with the death that occurred Oct. 10 at water storage pits south of Bay Tree, Alta., a remote community about 150 km northwest of Grande Prairie, CBC News reported.
According to the charges, the worker was collecting a water sample from an open water reservoir used for hydraulic fracturing when they fell into the reservoir and were fatally injured. The contractor was not wearing a life jacket and was working alone at the time of the incident.
Fracking water storage pits, also called frac ponds, are large in-ground reservoirs used by the hydraulic fracturing industry to hold large amounts of water used in the drilling process.
The charges allege Birchcliff Energy failed to ensure the worker was protected from drowning and did not identify the hazards of the work. Investigators say the company also failed to provide an effective communication system, such as a radio, and had not established a proper emergency response plan.
In a statement to CBC News Monday, Birchcliff Energy CEO Chris Carlsen said the company remains committed to worker safety and has fully co-operated with the investigation.
“With respect to the incident that occurred in October 2023 where one of our long-standing contract supervisors tragically drowned, Birchcliff continues to recognize the incredible loss that his family, colleagues and friends have suffered and we have taken meaningful steps to support the family who lost their loved one,” Carlsen said. “Birchcliff takes this matter very seriously.”
