Reclamation Declaration Application

After the physical reclamation of an oil and gas lease it may take several years before the site is functioning at the same capacity as background conditions. Even though the site is not ready to pass a Detailed Site Assessment (DSA) and therefore not eligible for an Acknowledgement of Reclamation, a large portion of the restoration of the site is complete.

As such the Ministry of Energy and Resources recognizes that the full reclamation liability associated with a licence, under the LLR Program, is not necessary at this point. Where licensees have reclaimed well or facility sites, in accordance with The Oil and Gas Conservation Regulations, 2012, and only establishment of vegetation is still required, licensees may be eligible for a temporary reduction in reclamation liability via a Reclamation Declaration Application.

This Reclamation Declaration application, once approved, would decrease the associated reclamation liability of the licence to $5,000 for a five (5) year period.

Guidance

An application to obtain a Reclamation Declaration authorization for a well or facility site must be submitted by a qualified third party consultant, as defined in Directive PNG016: Acknowledgement of Reclamation Requirements, on behalf of licensees.
Where an approval is obtained the reclamation liability of the licence is temporarily adjusted to $5,000 and the licensee has five (5) years from the authorization date to obtain an Acknowledgement of Reclamation (AOR) authorization.

Eligibility

• Be a qualified third party consultant, as defined in the Directive PNG016, who:
  • Has extensive knowledge of the site,
  • Is employed independent of the licensee and
  • Is authorized to submit the applications on behalf of the licensees.
• Have an Integrated Resource Information system (IRIS) account and the appropriate permissions assigned by your IRIS Security Administrator.

• Ensure the site was reclaimed (not including DSA) in accordance with The Oil and Gas Conservation Regulations, 2012, Directive PNG016: Acknowledgement of Reclamation Requirements and Directive PNG033: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment.
  • If a portion of the site cannot be reclaimed because it overlaps another well or facility still in operation, a Partial Exemption from Reclamation authorization must be received from the ministry before submitting the Reclamation Declaration application.
  • If a portion of the site will be left in place at the landowners request as an improvement, please ensure the supporting documentation is available to provide to the ministry upon request.
• Verify in IRIS that the following is true regarding the licence for which the application is being submitted:
  • Facility Infrastructure Status Type is 'Decommissioned' or Well Status is 'Abandoned' or 'Planned (Cancelled).'
  • Abandonment Liability associated with the licence under the LLR Program is $0.00.
  • Reclamation liability associated with the licence under the LLR Program is greater than $5,000.00.
  • The licence has not been identified as a Problem Site or if it has the status of the Problem Site is 'Corrected.'
  • Licence is not held by a licensee that has been deemed an orphan in Saskatchewan.
  • A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment and any subsequent investigations including a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment have been completed. Contaminants of concern inside or outside of surveyed lease boundaries that are above guidelines referenced in Directive PNG033: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment that would exclude the site from receiving an Acknowledgement of Reclamation.
  • All incidents have been remediated appropriately and no contaminants of concern remain inside or outside surveyed lease boundaries as per the Incident Reporting Requirements Directive PNG014: Incident Reporting Requirements.
  • A passing Gas Migration Test has been completed.
  • The only remaining work to be completed on the site is the completion of a successful DSA and AOR.

Please be advised that the Reclamation Declaration may be audited by the ministry and applicants may be required to provide supporting documentation; therefore, please ensure the supporting information is held in your records and made available upon request.

How To Apply

To apply for a Reclamation Declaration authorization:

1. Ensure you meet all eligibility requirements.
2. Log in to IRIS and complete the application process. For step-by-step details on how to complete the Reclamation Declaration application process in IRIS see the Liability Management lessons at the User Learning Centre.

The applicant will see the application status change to approved once submitted. The licensee will be sent a notification of the approval through IRIS.

When a Reclamation Declaration is approved, the reclamation liability associated with the abandoned well or decommissioned facility licence under the LLR Program is set to $5,000.00.

The licensee has five (5) years from the authorization date to obtain an Acknowledgement of Reclamation (AOR) authorization. Should this not be achieved the Reclamation Declaration will be automatically revoked and the reclamation liability will be restored to the standard liability calculated under the LLR Program. If the 5 year timeframe is not sufficient, the authorization can be extended by sending a request with a valid reason for the extension to lmb@gov.sk.ca.

Apply

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Further Information

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

• Directive PNG014: Incident Reporting Requirements
• Directive PNG016: Acknowledgement of Reclamation Requirements
• Directive PNG033: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment
• Directive PNG025: Financial Security Requirements
• Canadian Standard Association (CSA) Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Standards
• Canadian Standard Association (CSA) Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Standards

Energy and Resources will be auditing a percentage of all Reclamation Declaration Applications
The ministry may request additional information to confirm all work on a site required for a Reclamation Declaration application has been completed. If the information cannot be provided or is not acceptable/incomplete, the Authorization will be revoked, the reclamation liability will be increased to 4x full value calculated under the LLR Program, and all future Reclamation Declaration applications from the given licensee and Third Party consultant will be audited to ensure compliance with the program.