Acknowledgement of Reclamation Application

Licensees that have reclaimed well or facility sites in accordance with The Oil and Gas Conservation Regulations, 2012, may submit an application to the Government of Saskatchewan's Ministry of Energy and Resources for an Acknowledgement of Reclamation.

Guidance

An application to obtain an Acknowledgement of Reclamation (AOR) authorization for a well or facility site must be submitted by the licensee. It typically takes 3 to 5 years to obtain all the documentation required for an AOR application.

For more information, see:

• Directive PNG016: Acknowledgement of Reclamation Requirements
• Directive PNG018: Detailed Site Assessment Requirements
• Directive PNG033: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment
• Directive PNG045: Acknowledgement of Reclamation for Sodium Chloride Impacted Sites

Supplemental Information

Along with the above Directives, several supplemental documents have been created to help inform third party consultants and licensees of additional information that should be included in AOR applications to reduce review time, reduce back and forth communication between the involved parties (third party consultant, licensee, landowners and the government), and create better overall AOR applications.

• Summary Statement of Conclusions and Recommendations and Detailed Site Assessment Webinar
• Summary Statement of Conclusions and Recommendations and Detailed Site Assessment Webinar Transcript
• Landowner Information Letter

Eligibility

Before submitting an Acknowledgement of Reclamation application you must:

• Have an Integrated Resource Information system (IRIS) account and the appropriate permissions assigned by your IRIS Security Administrator.
• Ensure the site was reclaimed in accordance with The Oil and Gas Conservation Regulations, 2012, and the Directive PNG016.
  • If a portion of the site cannot be reclaimed because it's in an area still in use by another well or facility, a partial Exemption from Reclamation (overlap activity) authorization must be received from the ministry before submitting the AOR application.
• Be the registered licensee of the well or facility site in IRIS.
• Verify in IRIS that the following is true regarding the licence for which the application is being submitted:
  • Facility Infrastructure Status Type is 'Decommission' or Well Status is 'Abandoned' or 'Cancelled' (where the site has been built but the well was not drilled and the site reclaimed); and
  • Abandonment Liability associated with the licence under the LLR Program is $0.00.
  • Note: Unlicensed well or facility sites do not appear in IRIS or the LLR Inventory Reports. However, the AOR Program requirements still apply if there was any surface disturbance at the site.
• Hire a qualified third-party consultant, as defined in the Directive PNG016, to complete the following activities:
  • Conduct a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) and complete the Phase I ESA Form in accordance with Directive PNG016 to determine if Phase II ESA is required.
  • Conduct a Phase II ESA, if required, to further investigate the presence of potential contamination issues in accordance with the Directive PNG033: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment.
  • If contamination is found during the Phase II ESA, remediate the site and complete a Remediation Report as outlined in the Directive PNG016.
  • Conduct a Detailed Site Assessment (DSA) in accordance with the Directive PNG018 and complete the DSA Form.
  • Evaluate the DSA results against the DSA criteria to determine if the reclamation is considered a pass (i.e. meets DSA criteria) or fail. If the DSA fails, contact the licensee to address the issue(s) and then conduct a subsequent DSA, repeating the process until a pass is achieved.
  • If directed by the licensee, complete the Reclamation Feedback Form with required attachments and signatures as outlined in Directive PNG016. Please note the Reclamation Feedback Form has replaced the Landowner Acknowledgement Form and should be used moving forward.
  • Prepare the Summary Statement of Conclusions and Recommendations component as outlined in the Directive PNG016.
  • Provide the licensee with the compiled AOR application for review and request the required Cover Letter.
  • Ensure the licensee's Cover Letter meets the submission requirements.
  • The AOR Application Checklist is no longer required for applications as the new IRIS application Declaration Questions complete this step automatically. Directive PNG016 will be updated in the near future to remove this section.
  • Submit the AOR application package through IRIS.
• Complete:
  • The Reclamation Feedback Form if you have not asked the third-party consultant to complete it on your behalf.
  • Complete the Cover Letter Component as outlined in the Directive PNG016.

How To Apply

To apply for an Acknowledgement of Reclamation authorization:

1. Ensure you meet all the eligibility requirements.
2. Ensure all the requirements outlined in the Directive PNG016 and Directive PNG018 are met.
3. Prepare the application as a single PDF document (no security applied):
   • Name it either "Licence# AOR.pdf" or "Licence# AOR (orphaned).pdf" depending on the application type.
   • Ensure pages are orientated so they can be read on a computer screen.
   • The applicable components must be presented in the following order:
     • AOR Application Checklist
     • Cover Letter
     • Summary Statement of Conclusions and Recommendations
     • Landowner(s) Acknowledgement Form and required attachments
     • Phase I Environmental Site Assessment
     • Phase II Environmental Site Assessment
     • Remediation Report
     • Passing Detailed Site Assessment
4. Log in to IRIS and complete the application process. For step-by-step details on how to complete the Acknowledgement of Reclamation application process in IRIS see Acknowledgement of Reclamation (AOR) at the User Learning Centre.

The status of the application is communicated to the applicant as a notification through IRIS.

When an AOR application is authorized, the reclamation liability associated with the abandoned/cancelled well or decommissioned facility site under the LLR Program is zeroed.

Apply

Further Information

For more information on environmental and remediation standards, please see:

• Canadian Standard Association (CSA) Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Standards
• Canadian Standard Association (CSA) Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Standards
• Saskatchewan Petroleum Industry-Government Environment Committee (SPIGEC4) Upstream Contaminated Sites Remediation Guidelines
• SPIGEC5 Environmental Site Assessment Guidelines

Issues reported on sites that received AOR authorization

If the ministry is notified of an issue at a site that received AOR authorization, it will be investigated. If it's determined that the issue resulted from a former well or facility operation, the ministry will contact the applicable licensee or working interest participant to address it in accordance to The Oil and Gas Conservation Regulations, 2012.

Depending on the severity of the issue, the ministry requires documentation to be submitted to confirm the issue has been addressed, and confirmation that the landowner is satisfied with the action taken by the licensee or working interest participant.

The ministry reserves the right to cancel the AOR authorization and/or reinstate the reclamation liability if deemed necessary.