Alberta's Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act requires operators to conserve and reclaim land and to obtain a reclamation certificate. The government, in cooperation with industry and other stakeholders, has developed and published reclamation certification criteria for wellsites and for railways. Criteria are being developed for pipelines, borrow excavations, sand and gravel pits, and other activities. The criteria measure the success of industry's efforts to return disturbed land to equivalent land capability. Factors such as: (1) activity type and size, (2) age of the disturbance, (3) geographic location, ( 4) need for consistency and at the same time flexibility, (5) need for equal treatment between and within industries, ( 6) administrative and technical simplicity, and (7) stakeholder views are considered when developing the criteria. In 1998, Alberta's Reclamation Inspectors certified over 2400 wellsites.
This paper describes the development process for criteria with specific emphasis on the wellsite criteria, which underwent an extensive public review in 1998.
There is no one criteria development process that is "best". Experience in Alberta suggests that where time is not an issue, involving stakeholders from the very beginning produces a final product that is supported by all stakeholders. They believe that they have been heard and listened to. This process will take considerable time, especially if there are complex technical issues to address or parties who are not familiar with the regulatory process around reclamation certification.
However, where time is a factor, having one party (usually government) produce a "straw dog" for industry and the public to review and comment on may be necessary. For this strategy to be successful, the authors must be prepared to accept more criticism of the first draft and be fully prepared to change it than if the draft had been prepared with all stakeholders.