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Regulatory, Guidelines, Directives, Policies, & Criteria
The degree of conservatism current in some regulatory guidelines can be linked to some unnecessary remedial efforts throughout the petroleum industry. The development of accepted risk and science-based studies to protect the environment and reduce remediation costs.
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1. Organics (PHC) Remediation
- Fate and transport mechanisms (e.g., GW based soil guidelines)
- Understand appropriate protection of various exposure pathways
- Clarity on AB Guideline assumptions (e.g., continuous source)
2. Inorganics (salinity, metals) Remediation
- Fate and transport mechanisms (e.g., GW-based soil guidelines)
- Understanding background concentrations (including regional variations) of metals and salts
- Understand appropriate protection of various exposure pathways
- Clarity on Soil Contamination Assessment and Remediation Guidelines (SCARG) criteria (e.g., EC, SAR)
- Outcome-based soil quality guidelines for inorganics (surface/subsoil)
3. Research to support future updates to forested wellsite reclamation criteria:
- Review of sites reclaimed post 2007. Examples of research questions:
- Are sites on a trajectory to achieve the offsite ecosite or ecosite phase?
- Growth curves for woody species on reclaimed sites to support earlier certification of non oil and gas activities.
- Woody species plant community trajectory/survival rates on clay pads reclaimed to after 2007.
- Addition of species diversity parameters and thresholds to the forested criteria. Examples of research ideas:
- Methods for assessing components of habitat for various species (e.g., caribou, mountain sheep, goats).
- Methods for determining plant communities indicative of specific ecosites/ecosite phases.
- Undesirable species threshold for forested criteria.
- How much grass is too much to ensure reasonable growth over time in sensitive areas (e.g. caribou).
- Retrospective study on forested trajectories for reclaimed eco-sites with First Nations, Indigenous community representation to measure the success of forested BMP/treatments on wellsites post certification.
4. Support the development and update of wetland reclamation closure policy
- Site selection criteria and tools for selection when reclaiming to wetlands (sites that were not previously wetlands).
- Review of species richness of reclaimed wetlands on large borrow pits within the combined zones of shallow open water, emergent, wet meadow zones and swamps (when present) across the boreal/parkland for the purpose of reclamation certification.
- Minimum species richness and cover required to verify a desired wetland plant community.
- Peatland shifts E.g.) moderately rich fens to rich fens and construction techniques for preventing loss of trees in caribou zones during minimal disturbance construction.
- Peatland partial pad construction, options for establishing trees/shrubs to meet potential woody species requirements in caribou zones.
5. Research to support restoration requirements outlined in subregional planning for Caribou region
6. Effectiveness of restoration/reclamation treatments:
- When is a disturbance (e.g., seismic line) no longer a disturbance?
- Ecological value of reclamation (function, habitat, and hydrology) of different reclamation treatments (e.g., natural recovery, progressive reclamation, mounding, full/partial pad removal) compared to pre-/un-disturbed habitats.
- Determining how to measure or assess if a reclaimed site (e.g., p/l, transmission lines, new seismic, OSE) or plant community is on a trajectory to achieve one indicative of a pre-disturbance eco-site phase for
7. Other
- Understand Phase I ESA calculations for Drilling Waste (link to soil/GW guidelines)
- Understand the appropriateness of using of regional/multi-site assessments and develop a set of expectations/requirements for use
- Develop expectations/requirement for the use of software tools/numerical modelling
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Risk Assessment
Identify areas for broad application of risk assessment strategies that protect the environment and reduce the required management/remediation efforts.
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- Understanding risk assessment of receptors
- Standardized approach of risk assessment based on residual mass vs numerical endpoints (i.e., Tier 2C)
- Software tools to aid in the standardized application of Tier 2 guidelines using appropriate site-specific data.
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Reclamation and remediation technology advancement
Technology improvements and finding new applications of existing and new technologies to reduce reclamation and remediation costs and timelines.
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1. Petroleum hydrocarbon in fractured bedrock – effective remedial methods, associated risks, assessment effectiveness and relevance to environmental risk.
2. Practical remedial options for petroleum hydrocarbons, salinity, and metals impacts in wetland environments.
3. Effective in-situ/ex-situ groundwater treatment system(s) for petroleum hydrocarbon and salinity impacted sites.
4. Technologies that address specific issues: small volumes, longer remediation timeframes (e.g., 10+ years), modified endpoints.
5. Native Grassland Reclamation BMP development:
- Techniques for meeting infill requirements on problem sites.
- Managing Type 3 and 4 species on historical grassland sites constructed/reclaimed pre-2010).
- Techniques for management of crested wheatgrass
- Preventing problem native grassland reclamation sites – education tools.
6. Forested reclamation BMP Development
- Success of different reclamation treatments (e.g., natural recovery, progressive reclamation, mounding, planting) in establishing pre-disturbance ecosites.
- Weed trajectories in woody plant communities, influences of boreal community variables on longevity of common noxious weeds (shade, woody species diversity/abundance, peat/mineral mixes, soil type). How long and what conditions will individual noxious weeds become outcompeted by forested plant communities?
7. Use of remote sensing (e.g., ARUs, drones/UAVs, imagery), in reclamation
- Where/when can remote sensing data used for reducing sampling intensity for field level data collection?
- Use of remote sensing to verify plant communities are indicative of the ecosite/ecosite phase.
- Use of remote sensing to confirm or verify disturbances:
- Borrows: e.g., snapshots of site following construction, informing wetland indicators/success;
- Assess site variability: progressive reclamation, soil replacement, vegetation monitoring.
- Monitoring vegetation: weeds, native grasses, woody species
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