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Amid the bogs and forests of northern Alberta, in the heart of the Canadian oilpatch, lie some of the largest waste dumps of the global energy business.

In the shadow of the pipes and smokestacks that turn oilsands into flowing crude, earthen dams as long as 11 miles encircle lakes of toxic sludge, the byproduct of decades of extraction.

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These waste pools — known as tailings ponds — represent perhaps the most serious environmental challenge facing the oilsands industry. Now, the battle over how quickly to clean them up — and fears about who will pay — are escalating anew.

To howls from environmentalists, the provincial energy regulator granted two industry giants — Suncor Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. — approval for plans that could push a full cleanup decades into the future. Critics say the industry could end up sticking taxpayers with the bill, estimated at $27 billion (US$22 billion).