The oil sands deposits underlie 140,200 square kilometres of primarily northeastern Alberta (see Figure 1). This area constitutes more than 20% of Alberta. It is located in the boreal forest, a vast circumpolar ecosystem that is the largest terrestrial carbon sink in the world¹ and one of the world’s largest intact ecosystems. The boreal forest covers approximately 58% of Canada’s landmass² and contains about 80% of the country’s liquid fresh water.³ The Athabasca River passes through the mineable oil sands region. It is part of the Mackenzie River watershed, which is North America’s secondlargest watershed (13th in the world).⁴

Oil...

Through provisions in the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) and the EPEA’s Conservation and Reclamation Regulation, the Government of Alberta requires all oil sands mine operators* to post a security deposit with it.^42,43 This security deposit acts as a financial backstop or contingency plan to fund “the conservation and reclamation of specified land” if the mine operator is unwilling or unable to pay for the reclamation (e.g., in the case of an insolvency).⁴⁴ The security deposit, held in Alberta Environment’s Environmental Protection Security Fund (EPSF), is considered a surety, or guarantee, to prevent the public from bearing the reclamation...

Besides Alberta Environment mine financial security policies, which in theory ensure there is adequate reclamation funding in the event a mine becomes insolvent, there are also accounting and disclosure policies that can encourage companies to better plan for reclamation costs and give a more accurate picture of the long-term health of a company.

Environmental disclosure policies are created by various securities commissions and vary depending upon where a company is registered. They are only applicable to publicly traded companies. Companies listed on Canada stock exchanges must follow the disclosure standards set by the Canadian Securities Administrators that are followed by...

Despite the lack of publicly available information on oil sands mine reclamation costs, the Pembina Institute has attempted to provide a brief synthesis on the estimates of reclamation costs based on Government of Alberta data, industry data and a Pembina Institute analysis. Estimates are based on reclamation costs for existing disturbance only and do not consider broader environmental liabilities, such as the costs of reclaiming the initial seismic lines, test pits and road works, damage to airsheds, contamination and disruption of groundwater, the costs associated with greenhouse gas emissions and post-reclamation costs.

In 2008 the total oil sands security in...

The Pembina Institute conservatively estimates the current reclamation liability of oil sands mine reclamation could be as high as $15 billion based on their 2008 disturbance footprints.* This represents a $4.70 per barrel liability and a potential financial risk of $6,300 for every income taxpayer of Alberta. The actual environmental liabilities created by oil sands mine is much higher than $15 billion, because both reclamation security estimates accepted by Alberta Environment and the Pembina Institute figures do not consider broader environmental liabilities, such as the costs of reclaiming the initial seismic lines, test pits and road works, damage to airsheds....