Today we released new editions of Directive 088: Licensee Life-Cycle Management and Manual 023: Licensee Life-Cycle Management. These new editions come into effect immediately.
Section 4.2 of Directive 088 has been updated to include requirements around the closure nomination component of the AER’s Inventory Reduction Program. These new requirements support the Government of Alberta’s new Liability Management Framework and rule changes announced in Bulletin 2020-26.
The changes
- introduce the closure nomination component of the Inventory Reduction Program, which provides an opportunity for eligible requesters (e.g., private landowners, First Nations, Métis settlements, municipalities, disposition holders, ministers) to request the closure of a site, and
- describe the closure plan approaches available to licensees when a site is nominated.
Additionally, the licensee capability assessment (LCA) tool is undergoing routine updates and improvements that correspond to the changes in Manual 023. These changes are expected to be released in early March 2023. When the changes to the LCA are released, the LCA release notes in OneStop will be updated at the same time, and licensees are encouraged to review them for further details.
Closure nomination will be implemented in spring 2023. Additional communications about how to make a closure request and how to find additional information on existing nominations will be made available at that time. Licensees with sites associated with the Government of Alberta’s site rehabilitation program (SRP) will receive further direction on how to implement these new requirements in spring 2023.
The draft requirements were released on November 7, 2022, for public review, and we accepted feedback until December 6, 2022 (see Bulletin 2022-35). We engaged and considered feedback from various stakeholders, including Indigenous communities, industry, and environmental groups. A summary of the feedback, including our responses, is available on the Directive 088 webpage.
Directive 088 and Manual 023 are available on the AER website, www.aer.ca. If you have any questions, contact our Customer Contact Centre by phone at 1-855-297-8311 or by email at inquiries@aer.ca.
