In 1988 a joint research program was developed and implemented by the Alberta esearch Council and ESSO Resources Canada Limited to identify the impact of different loading rates of KCl, NaCl, and freshwater gel drilling wastes landspread on Luvisolic soils occurring in the Cold Lake area.
During 1991 five site visits were made to complete various tasks. The plots were harvested on June 25 and 26 and, again, on August 14 and 15 at which time soil sampling was also completed. Plant tissue was collected for analytical purposes on June 25.
The application of the different wastes at various rates had both positive and negative impacts on the soils and the plants grown thereon. Some conclusions with respect to waste application rates that can be applied were drawn. Determining maximum tolerable loading rates was difficult to do in the absence of guidelines as to how "tolerable" is defined. It was also concluded that liming potential as well as chloride addition should be used for assessing application rates for freshwater gel wastes.