Turning an oil sands mine
into an ATV park

Published in Alberta Oil Magazine, March 2011
By Adam Driedzic, Staff Counsel, Environmental Law Centre

What shall we do with a mined-out mud bog? Oil sands operators are spending billions to answer that question. While the focus to date has been on restoring land to its pre-industrial state, another option might be to turn some mines near Fort McMurray into a giant, fenced-in motorsport park.

Sound crazy? Here’s how it might look: License the private sector to build it, run it and charge admission. Restrict ATVs from accessing other Crown lands and enjoy fewer policing headaches because the recreational riding in the region is now legal. And change reclamation policy to make it happen.

The idea has concrete dimensions. In 1996, the Oil Sands Mining End Land Use Committee conducted a public survey on future land uses for mined-out oil sands sites. While the end result of the survey was overall support for a more naturalized landscape, it also produced suggestions of creating so-called “ATV playgrounds.”

It’s an intriguing suggestion and one that hasn’t gone away. In 2010, a new dialogue on mine reclamation was produced by the Oil Sands Research and Information Network (OSRIN). This time, participants were specifically asked to consider “productive uses other than boreal forest that might be appropriate particularly in consideration of changing values and uses of land over time – i.e., greater recreational demands.” OSRIN’s recommendation is to further explore interest in “alternate uses” of mined-out oil sands sites. The suggestion showed up at the 2010 Synergy Alberta conference, where keynote speaker and OSRIN advisor Satya Das suggested that we “leave some pits for the piston heads to go up and down in.”

Last year also saw progress on the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan under Alberta’s Land Use Framework. The plan’s advisory council asked the Alberta government to “address policy issues to enable the development of high-intensity motorized recreation areas on mined (i.e., bitumen) areas.” Participants in public consultations had worried that reclamation requirements were preventing the very type of tradeoff that could meet the economic, environmental and social goals of Alberta’s Land Use Framework. Allowing extensive recreation in industrialized areas is problematic. It creates liabilities. But there are certainly advantages.

There are broader economic gains, for one. Developing old oil sands mines into recreation parks is essentially low-risk diversification. The Lower Athabasca Regional Plan will promote new tourism destinations, but there must be commercial opportunities to win private sector support. Motorized recreation is a popular activity in Fort McMurray, which is the region’s travel hub. And the oil sands are themselves an Alberta-sized attraction, similar to dinosaur bones or the West Edmonton Mall. People already come to look. Even more will come to ride.

There is also a social advantage to re-jigging reclamation plans. Residents desperately need recreational opportunities, and while the right venue should provide an escape from the congestion of Fort McMurray, it must be close enough to serve an employed demographic. The environmental payoff may not seem obvious, but converting spent oil sands mines into ATV parks prevents recreational destruction of sensitive land in other corners of the province. Current policy keeps ATVs out of reclamations in progress but the enforcement challenge is growing. Fines are modest, the risk of being caught is low and the amount of land under reclamation is increasing. ATVs must be allowed somewhere, or they will be everywhere. Call it regulation by adrenalin.

There is a view that an open-pit mine can never be fully reclaimed. And simply repurposing land on a whim provides no standards for improvement. Experts are divided on whether the reclamation of land should include the remediation of contaminants. Some rely on a common assumption that reclamation will deal with contaminants. Others argue that these are separate but overlapping issues.

This debate has its origins in Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. The legislation defines reclamation as any or all of the following: removing structures, decontamination, reconstructing the land or further requirements provided by regulation.

The Conservation and Reclamation Regulation in turn requires that land be returned to an “equivalent capability.” This means establishing a “quality and quantity” of uses similar to what existed prior to the land disturbance, but not necessarily the same uses. At that point, administrative standards take over.

Oil sands miners must meet an equivalent capability standard that generally promotes forests and, since 2003, the upstream oil and gas industry in general has been required to address subsurface contamination. Applicants for reclamation certificates must conduct environmental site assessments, comply with any imposed remediation requirements and may be subject to contamination audits.

However, oil sands miners also receive specific reclamation requirements through project-specific approvals. These approvals can define reclamation more narrowly, referring to land-use capability but not decontamination. For its part, OSRIN recommended a whole new workshop on contamination and remediation be conducted in order to clarify the applicability of general standards to the oil sands or to consider the development of oil sands-specific guidelines.

Adding a quad park to the mix could warrant a change in reclamation requirements. Proponents might assume that turning an oil sands pit into an ATV park means less reclamation. But when kicking up dust is the name of the game, what grows on the land is less important than what lies beneath it. At worst, designating a recreational facility on top of an inadequate clean-up could trigger toxic tort litigation. If remediation is part of reclamation, then intensive human recreation warrants more reclamation, not less. And if this morass can provide the right standards, it still provides no certain results. Reclamation techniques are not proven.

Clearly, there are serious questions about turning old oil sands sites into giant ATV parks. So here is another proposal: Legislate a reclamation standard that provides for healthy recreation. Require proof of capacity to meet the standard as a condition of approval. Include remediation and decontamination of all project lands in any security cost estimate, and collect the full amount. Let there be no free rides on public land.

ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTRE:

The Environmental Law Centre (ELC) has been seeking strong and effective environmental laws since it was founded in 1982. The ELC is dedicated to providing credible, comprehensive and objective legal information regarding natural resources, energy and environmental law, policy and regulation in Alberta. The ELC’s mission is to educate and champion for strong laws and rights so all Albertans can enjoy clean water, clean air and a healthy environment. Our vision is a society where laws secure an environment that sustains current and future generations.

As a charity, the Environmental Law Centre depends on your financial support. Help us to continue to educate and champion for strong environmental laws, through tools such as our blog and all of our other resources, so that all Albertans can enjoy a healthy environment. Your support makes a difference.
Donate online today