One of the first people we met in St. Paul, a small farming town in northeastern Alberta, laughed when she first heard we were journalists from the city. Then she leaned in. If you ask me, she said, I’m excited about the jobs. 

She’s not alone in enthusiasm for a massive $16-billion project, including a pipeline not far from the town.

But not everyone is so excited, photojournalist Amber Bracken told me after visiting the community last summer. In fact, in a province home to more than 400,000 kilometres of pipelines already criss-crossing under the surface, some farmers and landowners seem especially worried about this new 400-kilometre pipeline. 

That’s because this pipeline won’t carry oil and gas, but rather carbon dioxide.

The project? It’s the centerpiece of plans from the Pathways Alliance — a group of the largest oilsands companies. Pathways wants to build a carbon capture pipeline from the oilsands to a storage site in the sandstone that lies more than a kilometre under this part of the province.

Amber and I first worked together in 2018 and have travelled around Alberta, listening to people’s perspectives on oil and gas. So when we heard about the huge project in St. Paul, we jumped at the chance to visit.

Like many of his neighbours, Amil Shapka first heard about the pipeline through the grapevine.

A land agent had been knocking on his neighbours’ doors, seeking permission for the pipeline to cross their fields, in exchange for a cheque. Shapka rented the local community hall and started making phone calls. “Farmer called farmer, neighbour called neighbour,” he says.

They feel like they’ve been kept in the dark. And they feel a little bit like guinea pigs: carbon capture of this scale is a huge and expensive endeavour — and it’s relatively new. Critics say it’s untested and unproven.

At the heart of it, there is an underlying skepticism of an expensive new technology being touted around the world as a solution to a global problem — right under the homes of people whose families have lived here for generations. 

Just yesterday, the Alberta Energy Regulator confirmed it will not require the project to undergo an environmental assessment.

Meanwhile, locals have real questions that have not yet been answered. What happens if groundwater is contaminated? What happens if the pipeline explodes? Who responds in an emergency? How will this impact Treaty Rights?

Hear from more of the project’s critics, supporters and skeptics — and let Amber’s photography transport you to a smoky and rainy September day — by checking out the full story. And if you only have a few minutes, read about five key questions residents are asking about the $16-billion plan.

Take care and keep your head out of the sandstone,

Sharon Riley
Prairies bureau chief

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