In British Columbia (B.C.) the Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) has a duty, under the Environmental Management Act (EMA) to oversee remediation and reclamation activities with regards to oil and gas sites. The tool that allows them to do this is the Certificate of Restoration (CoR). The CoR is basically comprised a two part process. Within 24 months of abandonment of a well, test hole or decommissioning of a production facility, the operator is required to submit an Application for CoR – Part I.
Application for a Certificate of Restoration Part I:The application Part I is an eight page form requiring detailed knowledge regarding operations and activities that occurred at the well site. The form is comprised of six parts:
General Site Information – This should be gathered from the Operator by way of a well file review and information held by the OGC.
Records Review – This requires a company well file review, the well file should also be requested from the OGC to complete the drilling information, production storage, environmental information sections. A review of historical aerial photographs is required, these can be obtained from the Crown Registry and Geographic Base Branch (GeoBC). Interviews are also to be completed with the present and past operators and landowners. Again this information can be obtained from the OGC.
Site Visit – The site visit is required to ensure that the information that has been gathered as part of the records review is corroborated at the wellsite or facility. Any discrepancies or limitations during the site visit should be noted. The site visit form should be completed in full and photographs taken, it is likely that more than four will be required.
Conclusions – From the information that has been gathered interpretation is now required to determine if there is any evidence to indicate contamination in soils or groundwater. The correct box should be checked accordingly.
Declaration – The professional that has completed the assessment is required to sign off by way of a declaration and provide the operators details if different from those of the professionals/ technologist.
Attachments – The supporting information is listed here, including; original aerials photos, list of available photos, photos from site visit, drilling waste checklist or sampling results, diagram of sump if applicable, summary of investigative/ remedial details, site plan (survey plan with annotations) and site profile.
Application for a Certificate of Restoration Schedule A – Site Profile:
The site profile is comprised of details about the history of the operations of the site, details of any investigative or remedial activities and interpretation of this data to determine the potential for contamination onsite. This from should be completed concurrently with Part I as a lot of the information will be required from a well file review. Reference is also required to be made to the Contaminated Sites Regulations (CSR), Schedule 2, Attachment A to determine which activities have occurred or are occurring onsite.
Submission:
The application is to be completed by an applied scientist or technologist who meets the following criteria:
Is registered as a member in good standing with a recognized professional or technologist organization
Possesses formal education, knowledge, skills and experience to conduct environmental site assessments
Is familiar with federal, provincial and municipal legislation
Is familiar with upstream oil and gas operations
The Part I Application is submitted to the OGC, in hard copy, with the site profile who in turn make a decision and respond in writing as to the next step; either proceed to Part II or conduct a Preliminary Site Investigation (PSI).
Further Sources:Web:
http://www.ogc.gov.bc.ca Oil and Gas Commission for British Columbia
Read more:
http://www.ogc.gov.bc.ca/industryzone/forms/wastemanagement.aspx BC Land Remediation
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/remediation/ Contaminated Sites Regulations
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/remediation/leg_regs/csr.htmJo Campbell M.Sc, R.P.Biol, p.Biol
Enviromarc
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A Bit About the Author:
Jo has worked in the Environmental Industry, both in Europe and North America for over ten years, and created Enviromarc to provide a comprehensive range of environmental support services to small, medium and large sized environmental companies. The business approach adopted by Enviromarc allows project flexibility and some of the lowest field and professional rates in the industry, with absolutely no compromise on quality!
