Oil and gas well site reclamation criteria in Alberta

Drilling waste disposal sites are one of the most difficult sites to reclaim in the oil and gas industry, due to contamination of the site with heavy oils and salts. The fundamental principle of well site reclamation is the return of a disturbed site to a land capability equivalent to the pre-disturbance land capability, which is sustainable under normal management of the land. A list of legislative requirements for reclamation in Alberta was provided. Steps involved in bioremediation were discussed. The concept of landfarming as a drilling waste disposal option for heavy invert mud systems over a selected plot of land, was introduced. Although theoretically landfarming can take place in either the topsoil or subsoil, studies have shown that topsoil provides a more favourable environment for microbial biodegradation of the hydrocarbons contained in invert drilling muds. 7 refs., 1 fig