Aspects of government decision-making for the disposal and reclamation of oil sands fine tails in northern Alberta

It was estimated that oil sands processing plants at Syncrude and Suncor in northeastern Alberta would produce 1.3 billion m3 of fine tails over the course of project lifetimes. Research has shown that fine tails and associated water were acutely toxic to aquatic organisms. Two approaches to solving the fine tails problem were proposed. The wet landscape option involved establishing a viable body of water by capping fine tails with a layer of water. The dry landscape option involved dewatering or disposing of the fine tails, resulting in a dry landscape. Government decision-making regarding which reclamation approach to use was made more complex by scientific, technical, economic, social, and political issues. Risk assessment proved to be a useful tool in assisting complex government decision-making. Research showed that both wet and dry landscape approaches are possible options. It was concluded that a combination of wet and dry methods should be used in reclamation. Further risk assessment for the dry landscape option was recommended since previous work focused more on the wet landscape option