Guide to Variance Justifications for Reclamation Certification of Wellsites and Associated Facilities on Forested Land

In 2018, the Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada (PTAC) initiated a multi-stage project in response to challenges experienced by practitioners, regulators and industry stakeholders related to reclamation certification of sites that were constructed using imported mineral soil pads in peatlands, and upland sites that have had natural vegetation encroachment. These sites present one or more reclamation deficiencies according to the applicable wellsite criteria and cannot receive a reclamation certificate without additional scrutiny and justification under current regulatory criteria and policies. This document focuses on upland sites. The main question when dealing with these sites is whether to disturb existing vegetation on upland sites to modify soil and landscape features to meet reclamation criteria. The goals of this project are to assist industry and regulators in making decisions around appropriate management and certification of sites with reclamation deficiencies, and to ensure that functioning ecosystems are developed on these sites.
A main finding from the Stage 1 outreach program was that challenges related to  certification of upland sites arise when vegetation parameters meet the Forested Land Criteria, but soil and landscape parameters do not. There has been inconsistency in how decisions about these sites have been made by practitioners and regulators, resulting in different levels of reclamation effort being applied/required, and in how reclamation criteria are interpreted and applied, creating ambiguity in terms of defining acceptable conditions for certification. Historically, industry and regulators have agreed that in certain site-specific circumstances, sites that have natural vegetation encroachment can be certified without removing existing vegetation and re-starting the traditional reclamation process. In these circumstances, reclamation can be certified if the Alberta Energy Regulator approves a variance request, which must be justified based on ecosystem function and include a comprehensive description of the site. However, limited guidance is available on what information is required for professional justification and there is a lack of clarity in the decision process to approve or reject variance requests. There is a need to identify
site characteristics that industry and regulators can agree require no (or minimal) further disturbance on upland forested sites with reclamation deficiencies. The findings from Stage 1 are provided in Evaluation of Reclamation Practices on Upland and Peatland Wellsites.
This document was developed to provide guidance and consistency in applying for and approving variance requests for reclamation certification of upland sites from an ecological perspective. Specifically, this document is targeted at sites that meet equivalent land capability and are on a trajectory towards sustainable forest ecosystems but have one or more reclamation deficiencies and reclamation to correct these deficiencies would damage the developing forest ecosystem on the site (or its associated access
road) to the extent that the impacts outweigh the reclamation benefits. This document is not intended to encourage or promote the use of variances to avoid doing reclamation, or to justify poor reclamation practices or lack of site history. Neglecting timely reclamation in favour of waiting for conditions to develop on-site that will justify deficiencies is not considered acceptable. Variances are to remain the exception and not the rule. The document will address common issues on upland sites but will not cover every single issue on every single site. The document will only apply to sites that can be certified through the Alberta Framework for the Management of Contaminated Sites.