In the northeastern quarter of Alberta, large deposits of oil sands, estimated at 173 billion barrels of recoverable oil,¹ lie underneath the boreal forest. The bitumen in the oil sands is a thick, tar-like substance bound with sand, clay and water. Underneath the almost 3,500 square kilometres (km²) of boreal forest in the Athabasca formation, the oil sands deposits are close enough to the surface (less than 100 metres deep)² to be mined.³ Companies from all over the world have been given the green light to surface mine (strip mine) for oil sands in the Athabasca Boreal region of Alberta...
Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are required by Alberta Environment and the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB)68 for large, complex projects that have significant environmental impacts.69,70 All oil sands mining projects require an EIA.71 Environmental approvals generally set project-specific operational limits for air, water and land for 10-year terms.72 Proponents are expected, but not required, to use the best available technology, as well as to meet all of the regulatory criteria and guidelines for landscape reclamation and cleanup of contamination. The current EIA process assumes reclamation success: “Mitigation paired with reclamation assumes a post-project success rate of 100%. Residual effects are...
In simple terms the generalized steps to reclaim the landscape after oil sands mining are the following: the leveling of overburden, soil replacement, revegetation and land management. Soil reconstruction is a critical component of reclamation success; the quality of reconstructed soil is a principal determinant for the sustainability and biodiversity of vegetation and wildlife.96 To generate soils and vegetation to cover the landscape a reclamation plan must consider climate, topography, parent material, drainage and time.97 The surface of the reconstructed landforms are covered with a layer of soil that is a peat-mineral mix that has been salvaged from areas to...
Once an area has been mined, operators and regulators are charged with the task of not only getting back what was lost — soil, wetlands, forests, wildlife and traditional uses — but also reclaiming what was created — stockpiles of overburden, industrial landfills and, most notably, massive lagoons of liquid tailings waste. Overall, Canada’s mining industry has a very poor record of being accountable for reclaiming the areas they have disturbed: Canada has more than 10,000 abandoned, unreclaimed mines.164 This unaccountability places a significant economic and environmental liability on the public.
In addition to the uncertainty of the success of...
In the past decade, oil sands development has proceeded at an irresponsible pace. While the scope and scale of oil sands projects have expanded rapidly, government policies and planning have fallen behind, which puts Alberta’s environment and Canadians at risk. The government still lacks environmental management systems to ensure development occurs within environmental limits, yet it continues to approve new development. Oil sands reclamation, particularly of tailings material, remains unproven. Without proof, the government is approving reclamation plans based upon good faith rather than hard fact. Government policies and management actions regarding reclamation must be urgently developed and implemented to...
