New recommendations to address tailings ponds

After extensive study and analysis, the Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee has released four new recommendations for Alberta and Canada. They are calling for new treatment technologies and increased community involvement in monitoring programs, as well as the establishment of standards for releasing treated oil sands mine water, and advancing end pit lakes.

Alberta's government accepts all four recommendations and will immediately begin exploring them further to create an accelerated plan for reclaiming the water and eventually returning the land for use by future generations.

"Doing nothing while mine water continues accumulating is not a sustainable long-term approach. These recommendations are a path forward to responsibly manage these waters and grow energy production while protecting the environment and communities downstream. I want to thank the committee for their great work, and we will start developing a plan to put these recommendations into action."

"Alberta and our industry partners have done the work to identify a safe, science-based solution for treatment and release. Now we need the federal government to take the next step. This is about protecting our environment, ensuring responsible resource development, and returning treated water safely to the water cycle for future generations."

"We welcome these measures by the Alberta government, which provide the framework and certainty needed by industry to proceed with responsible reclamation of oil sands mines. Further, Alberta is proposing science-based parameters to ensure the safe return of treated water used in oil sands mining, just as other provincial governments do for their respective mining sectors. We are hopeful that this will accelerate the development of federal regulations - which we requested almost 15 years ago - to be similarly advanced to allow the oil sands mining sectors to proceed with significant investments in reclamation and water treatment."

Alberta is the most responsible energy producer in the world and water-use intensity has decreased even as oil sands production has increased. Every day, industry leaders and technology developers are exploring new ways to better manage, treat and reclaim mine water.

The Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee met with industry operators, technology providers, Indigenous community members and scientists to review evidence and explore viable options to improve mine water management and tailings pond reclamation in Alberta's oil sands region.

Building off five initial recommendations released in June, the committee has made four additional recommendations:

• Recommendation 6 recommends government to work with the oil sands industry, technology providers and researchers to develop and conduct pilots on oil sands mine water treatment technologies.
• Recommendation 7 recommends government to expedite establishing release standards for treated oil sands mine water, building on existing processes used for other industries.
• Recommendation 8 recommends government to establish criteria for end pit lakes at the individual and landscape levels, building on ongoing research and development.
• Recommendation 9 recommends more inclusive oil sands mine water monitoring to support implementing these recommendations, while enhancing the credibility, transparency and timeliness of result reporting.

Read all nine recommendations in detail on alberta.ca.

"The recommendations are another critical step in the right direction. We cannot ignore this challenge, we need to keep working together to find practical and effective solutions that protect Indigenous rights, people and the environment."

Over the coming months, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas will work with the Alberta Energy Regulator and others to evaluate and explore all the committee's recommendations. Once the evaluation is complete, government will implement a safe and reasonable plan that is supported by science and protects communities in the region and downstream.

Alberta's government will continue listening to Albertans and the people who brought forward solutions to the committee. The ongoing leadership and participation of Indigenous communities are vital to shaping the management of tailings ponds, while protecting the land and water for future generations.

Quick facts

• In Alberta and around the world, mining operations produce tailings. Tailings - a mixture of water, sand, clay and residual bitumen - are the byproduct of the extraction process.
• The committee assessed and evaluated options against feasibility criteria including regulatory and policy alignment, environmental impact, economic viability, technical feasibility and Indigenous community impacts.
• The committee's first five recommendations were released on June 12.
• The province's oil sands tailings ponds now contain more than 1.3 billion cubic metres. This includes non-process affected water, such as rainwater, surface runoff, muskeg dewatering, non-saline groundwater depressurization and other water that has not been directly utilized in oil sands extraction or separation processes.
• In 2023, 79 per cent of the water used for oil sands mining was recycled, according to the latest data from the Alberta Energy Regulator.

Related information

• Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee recommendations