Reclamation

Only 0.15% of the area disturbed by oilsands mining is certified as reclaimed by the provincial government.

• Of the 686 square kilometres of land disturbed by oilsands mining operations, only 1.04 square kilometres (104 hectares) is certified by the government as reclaimed.¹
• Oilsands mine operators have unofficially reclaimed 65 square kilometres, but these values are self-reported. Due to a lack of regulated standards and transparency, this claim has not been verified.²
• New reclamation performance standards for oilsands mines will be implemented by the Alberta Government in 2011 and are intended to improve the accuracy and transparency of reclamation activity.³

Oilsands reclamation will not return the boreal forest to its natural state.

• The Athabasca boreal forest is naturally composed of about 40% wetlands,⁴ Wetlands perform several important ecological functions, including flood reduction, prevention of erosion, water filtration, recharging water tables and carbon sequestration.⁵
• Research outside the Alberta oil sands region suggests peatland restoration may be possible, but, to date, there has been no demonstration of successful reclamation of wetlands with high peat content in the Athabasca boreal region.⁶

Water capping of tailings waste through the creation of end pit lakes is an unproven method for reclaiming tailings waste.⁷

• A proposed long-term solution to toxic tailings reclamation is for mining companies to dump tailings waste into old mine pits and cap them with fresh water from the Athabasca River.⁸
• At least 27 of these high-risk and experimental "end pit lakes" are planned for the Athabasca Boreal region.⁹
• The historical data about using end pit lakes as toxic waste dumps are insufficient to determine whether or not they are a safe, long-term tool for reclaiming tailings waste. A fully realized end pit lake has yet to be constructed.¹⁰

Collection of financial security for oilsands mining reclamation, mandated under Alberta's Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, while intended to safeguard against Albertans paying for reclamation of oilsands mines, puts Albertans and Canadians at financial risk.

• In 2008, the total oil sands security in the Environmental Protection Security Fund was $820 million for 68,574 hectares of disturbed land, or only $11,964 per hectare. However, based on the limited government and industry data available, estimates suggest the cost of reclaiming this disturbed land will be $10-$15 billion, or approximately $220,000 to $320,000 per hectare.¹¹
• In March 2011, the Alberta Government announced an overhaul of the previous reclamation security system. While this new system is more transparent and accountable than the previous system, it increases the risk borne by taxpayers for the majority of a mine's life because security is no longer collected when a liability is created.¹²
• A reclamation security program is supposed to ensure that industry, not the public, is responsible for any unforeseen reclamation liabilities. If the program is underfunded, however, taxpayers might be on the hook for cleanup costs.¹³ One report suggests the underfunded security program could be exposing each Alberta taxpayer to a tax liability of $4,300 to $6,300.¹⁴ Under the new reclamation security program, the financial risk carried by Alberta taxpayers will increase.¹⁵

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1. Government of Alberta, "FAQ - Oil Sands" (accessed December 22, 2010).

2. Data obtained from C. Powter of Alberta Environment. Data include the following mines: Syncrude Mildred Lake (data start 1977); Suncor (data start 1978); Fort Hills (data start 1995); Syncrude Aurora (data start 1998); Albian (data start 2000); CNRL (data start 2004); Jackpine (data start 2005).

3. Government of Alberta, 2011 Progressive Reclamation Program.

4. Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries, Harvest Net-Down Analysis for Forest Management Unit A15 and the Mineable Oil Sands Area (MOSA) (2005).

5. Mary Griffiths, Amy Taylor and Dan Woynillowicz, Troubled Waters, Troubling Trends: Technology and Policy Options to Reduce Water Use in Oil and Oil Sands Development in Alberta (The Pembina Institute, 2006), 79. For example, it is predicted that Suncor's North Steepbank Mine will shift the area from substantial wetlands (48% before development) to a predominantly upland ecosystem (35% wetlands) after mine closure and reclamation. Suncor Energy Inc., "Voyageur Project-North Steepbank Extension Project Application," Vol. 1a (2005), 11-4.

6. Marsha Trites and Suzanne E. Bayley, "Vegetation in Continental Boreal Wetlands along a Salinity Gradient: Implications for oil sands mining reclamation," Aquatic Botany 91, no. 1 (2009):27-39.

7. EUB Decision 2006-128, EUB/CEAA Joint Review Panel Report - Application to Expand the Oil Sands Mining and Processing Plant Facilities at the Muskeg River Mine Albian Sands Energy Inc. (2006), 64.

8. Synenco Energy Inc., "Application for approval of the Northern Lights Mining and Extraction Project, Volume 3: Management Plans," 2006, 6-28.

9. Fay Westcott and Lindsay Watson, End Pit Lakes Technical Guidance Document, prepared for The Cumulative Environmental Management Association End Pit Lakes Subgroup Project 2005-61 (2007), 4.

10. Jennifer Grant, Simon Dyer, and Dan Woynillowicz, Fact or Fiction: Oilsands Reclamation (The Pembina Institute, 2008) (accessed January 31, 2011).

11. Nathan Lemphers, Simon Dyer and Jennifer Grant, Toxic Liability: How Albertans could end up paying for oil sands mine reclamation (The Pembina Institute, 2010) (accessed January 31, 2011).

12. Alberta Environment, "Mine Financial Security Program."

13. Royal Society of Canada, Environmental and Health Impacts of Canada's Oil Sands Industry (accessed January 28, 2011).

14. Nathan Lemphers, Simon Dyer and Jennifer Grant, Toxic Liability: How Albertans could end up paying for oil sands mine reclamation.

15. For more information, see: New oilsands reclamation program more transparent, but still financially risky.

updated May 2011