In 2020, the Guide to Variance Justifications for Reclamation Certification of Wellsites and Associated Facilities on Forested Land (the Guide) was developed to provide guidance and consistency in applying for and approving variance requests for reclamation certificate applications for forested upstream oil and gas wellsites (and associated facilities) that meet equivalent land capability and are on a trajectory towards sustainable forest ecosystems but have one or more reclamation deficiencies according to Alberta’s Forested Land Criteria. The Guide 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 purpose of the Guide is to inform decisions on whether additional reclamation is required to correct deficiencies on sites that have had vegetation establishment and ensure that the decision to forego additional reclamation is based on sound ecological principles.
This document provides five case studies to show how the Guide would be applied to real‐world
examples of reclamation certificate applications that have been submitted or are in the process of being evaluated for submission.