Reclamation Pathway Choices for Industrial Disturbances to Meet the 2010 Reclamation Criteria for Forested Lands in Alberta

Transcription

1 Reclamatin Pathway Chices Reclamatin Pathway Chices fr Industrial Disturbances t Meet the 2010 Reclamatin Criteria fr Frested Lands in Alberta (Octber 2011) By: JP Bielich 1 Mil Mihajlvich 1 Jean-Marie Sbze 2 1 Incremental Frest Technlgies 2 NAIT Breal Research Institute 1 P a g e

2 Reclamatin Pathway Chices Intrductin The 2010 Reclamatin Criteria fr Frested Lands has significantly changed the requirements fr the vegetatin grwing n site in rder fr the site t receive a Reclamatin Certificate. The histrical purpse f vegetatin establishment n industrial sites was t minimize ersin and t aid in the management f weed species. Varius agrnmic species such as clver, timthy and smth brme were used fr this purpse, as they were readily available in sufficient quantities, were cst effective and ccupied the site very quickly. Hwever, these species are nt native t frested lands. The Alberta Land Cnservatin and Reclamatin Cuncil (Reclamatin Research Technical Advisry Cuncil, RRTAC) published the secnd editin f the Manual f Plant Species Suitability fr Reclamatin in Alberta in The Manual listed many native species but cntinued t list agrnmic species such as crested wheatgrass, even in the frested areas. In the early 1990 s, there were sme areas f the Prvince where native species were being recmmended, but availability f sufficient quantities f seed were difficult t acquire, and there success in rapidly establishing site cver was incnsistent. (Jrdan Jnstn, pers. cmm.) The 1995 Update f the Reclamatin Standards states The use f native species fr revegetatin is encuraged. An ptin t use Natural Recvery was instituted which allwed fr slwer vegetatin establishment thrugh natural ingress f species frm the surrunding frest where ersin was nt a risk. The 2010 Criteria nw state that desirable frest species cver a minimum percentage f the reclaimed area. Develping successful peratinal prgrams require knwledge f the current state f the site, the desired future state, and the suite f tls and techniques available t mve the site frm the current state t the desired state. This dcument will discuss the different pints at which a vegetatin management plan wuld begin, and strategies t achieve the successful endpint f a reclamatin certificate under the 2010 Standards. Starting Pints The reclamatin prcess can begin sn after a disturbance, r may take place years later when a prducing facility has becme unecnmical and is abandned. There is als an inherent diversity f ecsites upn which disturbances have taken place. As a result, the starting pint fr the establishment f native vegetatin is highly varied. Cntaminatin frm the explratin and extractin phases will have been remediated prir t any revegetatin wrk. It is assumed fr this exercise that sil decmpactin treatments will have been cmpleted where necessary. 2 P a g e

3 Reclamatin Pathway Chices Determining the eclgical data, disturbance type and existing vegetatin n site due t past practices prvides the starting pint. Ecregins and Ecsites: The breal frests f Alberta have been classified using varius guides as described in Sectin 2.4 and 7.0. These ther sectins cver the tpic f chsing suitable species fr revegetatin. This tpic will nt be discussed further except t highlight that the initial cnditins will be affected by the type f site invlved. Types f disturbances: The fcus f this exercise is upland cnventinal il and gas disturbances. Wellsites, access rads and assciated facilities such as camp sites, brrw pits and remte sumps will be the fcus f this discussin. Drilled and abandned wellsites: There are several types f wellsites that may ccur. Minimal disturbance. Sites where minimal site preparatin has ccurred, ften due t sensitive sites such as sandy sils r permafrst. These are usually drilled in frzen cnditins. Natural Recvery site. Sites where the tpsil has been stripped and re-spread, but ersin is nt a cncern, allwing the cmpany t wait fr natural recvery f vegetatin frm the surrunding frest. Minimal disturbance sites will be a subset f this type f site. Cnventinal sites with agrnmic species deplyed. These are similar t the natural recvery sites, but will have agrnmic species n site due t past practices, r ersin cncerns. Operated wellsites: There are many types, sizes and ages f perated wellsites, but frm a vegetatin management perspective, these will all have sme degree f agrnmic species n sites. In the future, there may be perated sites that will have had partial reclamatin cmpleted. These partially reclaimed sites wuld be treated as tw strata, ne treatment similar t the drilled and abandned wellsites abve, and the secnd strata being the perated area. Campsites Remte sumps Brrw pits Existing Vegetatin: The existing vegetatin n site is classified int the three categries f wdy vegetatin, herbaceus (grasses and frbs) and weeds. 3 P a g e

4 Reclamatin Pathway Chices End Pint The endpint is success achieving a Reclamatin Certificate. The 2010 Criteria define successful revegetatin as: Wdy: % cver and/r stem/plant cunt - Visual quantitative estimate f percent cver (shrub and trees) and/r wd stem/plant cunt (trees and shrubs) using a 1.78 meter radius (10 m 2 ). - Target is t achieve >= 25% shrub cver f cntrl/reference cver, r a stem/plant cunt f 5 if natural recvery, r 2 if planted. Herbaceus: % cver - Target is t achieve >= 25% herbaceus cver with a visual quantitative estimate f percent cver using a using a 1.78 meter circular radius (10 m 2 ) Prcess t achieve the Endpint The fllwing pages utline a prcess flw fr the varius starting pints t achieve a successful endpint. 4 P a g e

5 Reclamatin Pathway Chices Minimal disturbance wellsites Pre disturbance reclamatin plan Pst disturbance assessment. Assess vegetatin and weeds. Weed management plan implemented N Wait 2 years, reassess. Are there sufficient herbs and wdy stems fr the site t pass the criteria? Prhibited nxius weeds eradicated and nxius weeds cntrlled? N Wait 2 years, reassess If sufficient numbers but nt cver, wait and reassess. If nt enugh plants, plant r seed suitable species. Yes Apply fr Reclamatin Certificate Pre-disturbance Data Cllectin and Reclamatin Plan: Develping a plan prir t cnstructin f the site allws, firstly, the gathering site data such as sil depths, eclgical variatin, watercurse and secndly, the planning f wdy debris placement and, thirdly, the develpment f interim steps such as chice f vegetatin fr sil stability while the well perates and partial reclamatin pssibilities. Mst existing sites will nt have this infrmatin, but gathering it planned sites will ensure better reclamatin utcmes in the future. Pst disturbance Assessment: Minimal disturbance wellsites shuld nt require peratinal vegetatin establishment, as the prpagules shuld be n site already. The pst site assessment will be 5 P a g e

6 Reclamatin Pathway Chices t ensure the peratins were truly minimal disturbance and t ensure vegetatin is regenerating. If the site is prgressing well, a full Detailed Site Assessment can be cmpleted, r a simple walk thrugh cmpleted when bvius deficiencies exist. The tw questins t assess are the number f prpagules and the presence f weeds. Desirable wdy and herbaceus species: The standard required 25% cver f each type f vegetatin. The wdy stems can miss the 25% target if there are 5000 stems per hectare f naturally established stems, r 2000 stems per hectare f planted seedlings. If the number f herbaceus plants is high, but they are small (yung) simply prescribing a reassessment in tw years will prbably be sufficient, therwise planting r seeding may be required. If the wdy stems cunt, r cver will be insufficient, planting r seeding will als be required. (see BMP n planting). Planting may require sme site preparatin if there are sme limiting factrs such as wet sils r cmpetitin. (see BMP fr site preparatin) Weeds: If Prhibited Nxius are detected, they must be eradicated. Nxius weeds must be cntrlled as per the weed act. (see BMP n weed cntrl) Treatments fr weeds will require several years f annual visits, prir t seed develpment, t ensure that they are prperly cntrlled. A missed year will allw the weeds t seed, creating a seed bank that will take several mre years t cntrl. Wellsite that was perated with n prir reclamatin wrk cmpleted. Oil r gas wells may prduce fr very shrt perids up t decades. The current cnditin f the disturbance will vary depending n the time perid f the riginal cnstructin, as well as activities in the peratinal phase. Pre-disturbance infrmatin may have been cllected fr sme f the mre recently cnstructed wells, but this will nt be the nrm. Any wrk dne n the sils will require line lcating fr safety reasns. The lnger a well has prduced, the higher the prbability f subsil cmpactin. The access rad will prbably have a gravel surface. The tpsil may have been stred in wells cnstructed after 19**, but rarely in lder nes. The tpsil pile will have a lt f vegetatin n it, ften in the frm f weeds. The wrking surface f the disturbance will prbably have agrnmic species fr cver. The amunt f native frest species n site will vary cnsiderably. 6 P a g e

7 Reclamatin Pathway Chices Data Cllectin and Reclamatin Planning Pre-disturbance Data Cllectin and Reclamatin Plan: Where pre-disturbance assessments and reclamatin plans are available, use them as a resurce fr all f the next steps. Pst disturbance Reclamatin Assessment: Fr this exercise, we will assume that the Phase 1 and, where required, Phase 2 alng with decntaminatin, will have been cmpleted. Infrmatin will be gathered t build a reclamatin plan. Infrmatin required will be n the landscape, sils and vegetatin parameters t assess current cnditin. Backgrund data: Year f cnstructin will be required t knw if tpsil salvage was required. Year f abandnment will infrm the reclamatin standard that must be met. Year f any reclamatin wrk cmpleted t date. Any ther?? Landscape: Where a pre-disturbance assessment is nt available, an assessment f hw the site shuld lk like after re-cnturing will be made using histrical phts and field assessments. This invlves apprximating previus cnturs, as well as any drainages that may need t be restred. Search using databases, phtgraphy and nsite visit t determine existence and lcatin f ther dispsitins in the area that need t be cnsidered prir t reclamatin wrk being dne. Lcatin f existing sumps, ffsite and nsite. The lcatin f brrw pits, ffsite and nsite. Access rad and tear drp status. If it needs t be remved, where t put the material. (sump, brrw pit r elsewhere) Riparian functin (what t include??) Infrastructure f refuse t be remved. Sils: The subsil will require an assessment f cmpactin/massing t determine if decmpactin is required. Use rting f existing vegetatin, signs f impeded drainage cmpared t ffsite, sil cnsistency and structure Sil texture n and ff site, t ensure that treatments attain the texture f the ff-site cntrl. 7 P a g e

8 Reclamatin Pathway Chices The lcatin and amunt f any tpsil and carse wd debris will have t be nted, with plans t spread the material prir t decmpactin, depending n the methd f decmpactin used. Vegetatin: An assessment f current vegetatin can be used t prject what will return after the sub-sils have been re-cntured and tpsil/wdy debris replaced. A descriptin f the surrunding frest that will infrm the desired target vegetatin. A descriptin f weeds (as per the Weed Regulatins) n site. Any presence f weeds will require a weed management plan that shuld start as sn as pssible. Treatment f weeds prir t sil mvement, and fr several years after sil mvement will be required t cntrl mst weeds. A missed year will allw the weeds t seed, creating a seed bank that will take several mre years t cntrl. Reclamatin Plan A reclamatin plan will be develped that describes all f the wrk t be cmpleted and the timelines fr the wrk t be dne. Remval f any structures r refuse n site. Ensure Cut & Cap is cmpleted. This step will be dne first, whenever access allws the wrk t be dne. Subsil: this will ften require heavy equipment, s ensure access is cnsidered in the timing f the prpsed wrk. Tpsil: Remval f the teardrp and placement f the material in a suitable lcatin. Recnturing t the riginal cntur as much as pssible, including any drainages that need t be restred. Decmpactin f subsil may ccur at this stage depending n tls used Spread tpsil as evenly as pssible. The year f abandnment will dictate the target percentage f the cntrl tpsil that is required. Where the tpsil n site is insufficient t achieve the target, tpsil may have t be imprted. Carse Wdy Debris (CWD): If CWD has been mulched, it can be spread as well, but shuld nt be greater than 10 Decmpactin: cm thick, r it will hinder the re-vegetatin f the site. CWD will nt be cmmn n perated wells. Where it exists, spread the carse wdy debris evenly acrss the site. In amunts greater than 100 tnnes per hectare, sme f the material will have t be piled and burned, as it will be t thick n the site. 8 P a g e

9 Reclamatin Pathway Chices Final decmpactin will ccur at this pint. There is debate n the best tl and pint f entry in the spreading cycle t decmpact, but this will be the last pprtunity. Decmpactin type and timing is an area that is still being researched at this time. Vegetatin Establishment: A Vegetatin Management Plan shuld be assembled fr every site, based n its particular ecsite (target species) and existing vegetatin. Items t cnsider are: Weeds: If the site had a weed prblem prir t reclamatin, they will re-clnize the site very quickly. Even if they were treated prir t the sil wrk, they will reappear quickly. The strategy may be t let them regenerate, and treat them prir t establishing any preferred vegetatin. A vegetatin management strategy will have t be implemented with many visits t ensure weeds are nt allwed t g t seed. The vegetatin management plan will dictate what species and when t deply the planted r seeded vegetatin. Mnitring and Vegetatin Management: This is critical t establishing desirable plant species and t achieving reclamatin bjectives. The fllwing dcuments has been develped t guide vegetatin management fr wellsite reclamatin. Principles f Vegetatin Management describes the fundamentals f successful vegetatin management and prvides linkages t bth the vegetatin establishment technical nte and t peratinal vegetatin management treatments and prcesses. Vegetatin Management Treatment Optins identifies an array f vegetatin management treatment categries and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. Operatinal Vegetatin Management prvides guidance n prescribing, integrating and deplying vegetatin management treatments t cst effectively achieve reclamatin bjectives. Special Cnsideratins in Herbicide Use prvides specific guidance arund herbicide use fr vegetatin management - particularly with respect t regulatry requirements, safety, envirnmental prtectin and prescriptin. Detailed Site Assessment (DSA): If all actins abve are cmpleted prperly, the site shuld be ready fr a DSA tw years after vegetatin establishment. The annual mnitring visits will prvide an pprtunity t prject when the vegetatin will have grwn sufficiently t pass the standards. (Refer t the BMP, r 2010 Criteria fr prcess t d the DSA) 9 P a g e