Certification of Mineral Soil Pads in the Boreal Region – Decision Framework and Support Tools: 2022 Update

In 2018, the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) put out a request for proposals entitled Reclamation Practices on Upland and Peatland Well Sites. The project was established in response to challenges experienced by practitioners, regulators and industry related to reclamation certification of legacy sites. The specific sites in question are those that were constructed using imported mineral soil pads in peatland. The goal of the overall project is to provide recommendations for an acceptable framework/decision support tool(s) to assist industry and regulators in making decisions around appropriate management and certification of these sites that ensures that functioning ecosystems are developed and that there is a process that outlines eligibility for reclamation certification.
A draft report, Certification of Mineral Soil Pads in the Boreal Region – Decision Framework and Support Tools, was released in October 2020 to provide opportunities for industry, practitioners, and government to review and comment on the document and to set the stage for a field verification trial of the Decision Framework and Support Tools in 2021. The goal of the reviews and field verification trial were to ensure the Decision Framework and Support Tools added value in making decisions on whether to leave a mineral soil pad in a peatland.
PTAC held a Knowledge Transfer webinar June 7, 2021, with presentations by Dean MacKenzie, Vertex Professional Services Ltd., and Bonnie Drozdowski, InnoTech Alberta. The goal of the Knowledge Transfer webinar was to increase awareness of the Decision Support Tools report and to request industry and practitioner participation in a field verification trial in 2021. A second online webinar was held in June 2021 for industry and practitioners interested in conducting the field verification trial. The goal of the second webinar was to familiarize people with the purpose, process, and expectations of the field verification trial.
The results of the stakeholder reviews and field verification trial are summarized in a separate PTAC report. This 2022 Update is a revision of the original Decision Framework and Support Tools report based on the feedback and field verification trial.