D-050

Question 1

1. What does Directive 050 pertain to?
2. Why was Directive 050 made?

Answer 1

1. Drilling Waste Management
2. To provide the Licensee of a well or pipeline with:
   
   1. ways to manage drilling waste that
   2. protects the environment and
   3. works with other waste management practices.

Question 2

Where does D-050 offer support? 5

1. waste disposal on…
2. Supports dev of T to i W recyc
3. R
4. R
5. S

Answer 2

This policy supports:

1. waste disposal on lands where there are agronomic benefits.
2. It supports the development of technology to improve waste recycling and
3. reuse options and to
4. reduce the volume of wastes sent for disposal.
5. Sites, where drilling waste is disposed, are to be restored to equivalent land capability.

Question 3

Under D-050, what do waste management practices require?

Answer 3

Drilling waste management practices require

• monitoring

and

• reporting consistently to the AER.

Question 4

Why the directive is important?

5

Answer 4

1. protect the quality of soils receiving drilling waste,
2. prevent the migration of drilling waste from the disposal area,
3. protect the quality of surface water by ensuring that there is enough distance between the disposal area and a water body
4. minimize the amount of land disturbed for disposal operations.
5. reduce any potential adverse effects.

Question 5

Who does this directive pertain to?

Answer 5

1. Companies drilling for hydrocarbons and producing waste fluids.
2. Pipeline companies boring and producing waste fluids.
3. Landowners because…
   
   1. they ‘re concerned with contamination of soils & groundwater
   2. They may wish to have drilling wastes spread on their land (rich in nitrogen)…this requires AER approval

Question 6

SUMMARY of Directive 050:

• DWD=
• MANY disposal methods and each have criteria:
  
  1. 2.

Answer 6

• drilling waste disposal and p/L construction waste from HDD (horizontal directional drilling)
• Landspray,
  
  1. pump-off, Mix-bury cover, landspreading,
  2. LWD,
  3. disposal onto forested public lands,
  4. biodegradation,
  5. subsurface disposal,
  6. export to approved waste management facilities,
  7. mobile thermal treatment units,
  8. alternative methods

Question 7

Drilling waste disposal criteria:

1. S?
2. Grade & topography
3. Application?
4. ? of disposal areas
5. Sampling for pH, BTEX, EC, SAR, Na, N, toxicity

Non-hydrocarbon liquids

6. Setbacks ex. can’t be within ? of a waterbody

Answer 7

1. Soils
2. Grade & topography
3. rates
4. Size
5. 100m

Question 9

• What do Alberta Tier 1 Soil and Groundwater Remediation Guidelines have to do with this Directive? (1 mark)

Answer 9

• The soil endpoints for the drilling waste land disposal methods
• Directive 050 have been aligned with the latest edition of the Government of Alberta’s Alberta Tier 1 Soil and Groundwater Remediation Guidelines.

Question 10

• What is DRILLING WASTE? (1 mark)
• D

D

D

Answer 10

• Drilling waste is the mud and cuttings generated while
• drilling a well (including oil sands exploration wells), and
• directional drilling for pipeline construction

Question 11

True or False (1 mark)

• You don’t need landowner consent to manage drilling waste on the wellsite where it was Generated as long as you don’t bury it.
• Landowner consent is not required when landspraying off the wellsite or off the pipeline ROW

Answer 11

• True
• False

Question 12

True or False

• If you are going off lease with drilling waste and you want to mix-bury-cover it you will need landowner/department/agency consent.

Question 13

• Who issues consent for the landspreading of drilling wastes on First Nations lands?
• Who issues consent for the landspreading of drilling wastes on the Bases and Air Weapons Range ( Suffield, Wainwright, Cold Lake)?

Answer 13

• IOGC must provide approval
• Department of National Defence and for any leased provincial lands EP

Question 14

List the drilling waste (dw) management methods addressed in this directive.

1. Storage
2. L or p
3. L
4. Biod
5. S
6. DW to approved

Answer 14

1. Storage of dw on wellsite, p/L, or at remote site
2. Landspray or pump-off outside the wellsite boundaries
3. Landspread and mix-bury-cover into subsoils on a well-site, p/L, or at remote site
4. Biodegradation of dw in a contained system at a wellsite or remote site
5. Subsurface disposal down a well that is being drilled
6. DW to approved waste management facilities (D-058)

Question 16

What is the connection between drilling wastes and Soil Endpoint Requirements?

Answer 16

AER has developed these from the AB Tier 1 Soil and Groundwater Remediation Guidelines to deal with

• identifying soil horizons that are acceptable to receive DW and
• when DW is added to those soils the criteria in the endpoint tables are not exceeded.

Question 17

For each disposal method and applicable soil horizon and depth, licensees must ensure that the

______ and ________of the waste/soil mix do not exceed the allowable changes from background soil values as set out in table 3.1.

Answer 17

EC (Electrical conductivity)

SAR (sodium adsorption rate)

Question 18

Of the metals that might be in drilling mud, which metal must be identified and the concentration determined before it can be mixed or stored in soils?

Answer 18

Barite/ barium