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Bulletin 2007-31

September 10, 2007

Invitation for Comment—Draft Revision of Directive 050: Drilling Waste Management

The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) is responsible to maintain and administer oilfield waste management requirements for the upstream petroleum industry. Requirements specific to the management of drilling waste are set out in Directive 050.

Directive 050 was last updated in 1996. Since then there have been advancements in drilling mud formulations, waste management options, and soil quality and reclamation guidelines. In addition, government reorganizations have taken place, and the EUB, Alberta Environment, and Alberta Sustainable Resource Development have clarified regulatory roles and responsibilities for waste management.

The EUB initiated a multistakeholder review of Directive 050 in January 2002. The committee work concluded in 2004. The EUB considered all of the information gathered through the committee work during the development of this draft revision of Directive 050. The EUB invites comments on this draft revision and suggestions for alternative approaches to the technical aspects presented.

The draft revision is available for review on the EUB Web site at www.ercb.ca under Industry Zone: Rules, Regulations, Requirements: Directives; paper copies of the draft revision are available through EUB Information Services by calling (403) 297-8190. Feedback may be electronically submitted (by e-mail or e-mail with an attached Word file) to eub.wasteops@gov.ab.ca, with the subject line “Draft Directive 050 Feedback”; hard-copy feedback may be mailed to Susan Halla, EUB Environment Group, 640 – 5 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 3G4.

The EUB would appreciate that the responses be formatted to identify

• the specific section of the directive that is of issue, including the page on which it appears,
• what the issue is,
• possible solutions or recommendations, and
• the rationale to support the solution or recommendation.

Comments received will be taken into consideration when finalizing the revision to Directive 050. The draft revision will remain posted on the EUB Web site until October 31, 2007, and comments will be accepted until October 31, 2007.

<original signed by>

D. K. Boyler, P.Eng.
Executive Manager
Compliance, Environment, and Operations Branch