The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) authorizes surface access to public land for energy related activities through the issuance of dispositions under the Public Lands Act. (For details, see our website, www.aer.ca > Regulating Development > Project Application > Application Legislation > Public Lands Act.)
We are working closely with Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) to make the disposition renewal process more efficient, while maintaining environmental outcomes. Today we are announcing the following changes:
- Dispositions originally issued before September 1, 2010, are now designated "legacy."
- When renewing legacy dispositions, sketch plans may now be acceptable in lieu of survey plans for verifying location and footprint. Survey plans remain always acceptable.
- The existing AEP document Formal Disposition Renewal has been updated to incorporate the above.
- AEP has issued a new document, Legacy Public Lands Disposition Renewal Using Sketch, and a new webpage, https://www.alberta.ca/disposition-management-post-issuance.aspx, that outlines the eligibility criteria and minimum standards for sketch plans and digital mapping.
- Manual 018: OneStop Public Lands Application Manual has been updated to include these changes.
Despite these changes, the AER has the authority to require a survey plan at any time under section 23 of the Public Lands Act.
For more information, contact our Customer Contact Centre by phone at 403-297-8311 (1-855-297-8311 toll free) or by email at inquiries@aer.ca.
