An oil sands operator is required to have an Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) approval to operate an oil sands mine or an in situ facility. Under an EPEA approval, an operator has the Duty to Reclaim. This means that an oil sands mine operator must conserve soils and materials, reclaim the area disturbed, and obtain a reclamation certificate to release the land back to the crown. The Conservation and Reclamation Regulation under EPEA requires an operator to return land to equivalent land capability and that the operator provides financial security. The approval granted to an oil sands operator under EPEA provides further context, definition, standards and requirements for conservation and reclamation activities including setting requirements for both planning, reporting and research.
Operators will have to participate in the following tasks in order to develop the land:
· Obtain an Energy Agreement (Oil Sands Lease).
· Develop and submit an Environmental Impact Assessment or for approved projects, operators submit an updated application under EPEA.
· Regulatory agencies will review the applications and if approved, determine if special remediation or reclamation standards will be required for the project outside of standard requirements.
· AENV issues an EPEA approval for approved projects which must be followed by an application for a disposition under the Public Lands Act before access is granted and surface disturbance may begin.
· Submit periodic updates to regulatory agencies for several plans which are authorized under the regulatory approval. These updates include the mine reclamation plan, the revegetation plan, the life of mine closure plan, and other key planning documents.
· On an annual basis ensure operational compliance through monitoring and inspections. Companies will be required to submit detailed updates on the status of the land, air, water and waste associated with a regulated facility.
· For areas which have been reclaimed and monitored for sufficient time, applications for a reclamation certificate are required before land and associated reclamation liability is transferred to the crown.
In order to reclaim land, an operator must undergo landform construction, soil placement, revegetation (planting) and maintenance. Once vegetation is in place a parcel of land is classified as reclaimed. It will not be certified until an operator applies for a certificate. Reclamation certification requires an assessment of the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the land, including topography, drainage, hydrology, soils and vegetation. Once a parcel of land is certified as reclaimed, the responsibility passes from the operator to the crown. The benefit of having land reclaimed but not certified is that the land is moving back to being available for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In addition, having a period of time available between reclamation and certification ensures that sufficient time is available for assessment of key ecological indicators.
Reclaimed land may be disturbed in the future if an operator decides to extend a facility (e.g., extend a tailings pond dyke), or when land reclaimed by a previous operator or lease holder is disturbed for another purpose (e.g., gravel pit lease is changed to an oil sands lease). Often land is only temporarily reclaimed (minimal vegetation) to minimize erosion, with the recognition that it may be disturbed in future. The cost and effort of permanent reclamation is significant and operators will consider the potential loss as part of the decision whether to re-disturb reclaimed land or not.