Who regulates oil sands development?
The ERCB ensures that appropriate precautions are taken to develop oil sands resources in the interests of all Albertans through regulation, application review, conditions and approval management, surveillance, and enforcement. ERCB oil sands requirements, which industry must abide by, exist to maintain public safety during mining and extraction, in situ injection and production, and upgrading. Operators at mining operations are required to submit annual mine plans and tailings management plans to the ERCB to allow for the evaluation of ongoing operations. The ERCB conducts this oversight to ensure that Alberta’s resources are being developed in a safe and efficient manner for the benefit of all Albertans. In 2008, the ERCB issued Directive 073: Requirements for Inspection and Compliance of Oil Sands Mining and Processing Plant Operations in the Oil Sands Mining Area, marking a major update of its oil sands mining inspection process. This update doubled oil sands mining inspections fro
