Alberta premier defends oil sands development

July 2, 2008 WYOMING -- Alberta's top official defended his province's development of crude from Canada's massive oil sands as environmentalists' complaints trailed him to the Western Governors Association meeting in Wyoming.

Premier Ed Stelmach said Tuesday that he expects his province's oil industry to be scrutinized because it's the top source of imported crude oil to the United States.

The Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups took out an advertisement in the Casper Star-Tribune, Wyoming's largest newspaper, criticizing the impact of Alberta's oil sands development on forest land and the emissions it produces as fuel.

Stelmach says Alberta has pioneered carbon capture efforts, was the first North American jurisdiction to impose a levy on carbon emissions and has worked to reduce energy consumption in the province.

© 2008. The Associated Press.