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Crown Surface Land Acquisition

A Beginners Guide to the Enhanced Approvals Process (EAP)

Presented by: Shelby Biddlecombe, CPSA

Calgary Petroleum Club, June 18, 2014,

Overview • Three main “types” of Crown Applications:

• Enhanced Approval Process (EAP) • Limited Scope of Projects – MSL, LOC, PLA, PIL

• Applies to Conventional development only

• Major Industrial Applications • Applies to ALL Oil Sands and In-Situ Projects.

• Traditional Crown Applications • Covers all Conventional applications that are outside of

scope of EAP.

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History of EAP • EAP was brought about (circa 2010) to streamline Crown approvals,

reduce processing time & workload at SRD and to facilitate changes to Legislation that would be coming along in the next few years (PLAR, Regional Land-use Framework, Integrated Land Management etc.)

• Limited scope, only certain disposition types are EAP eligible. • Lands that are under the jurisdiction of other agencies or ministries

are not EAP eligible (ie: Provincial or Federal parks, Private Lands, Special Areas, or First Nations Reserve lands)

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Surface Dispositions within EAP

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Dispositions within the current scope of EAP: MSL – Mineral Surface Lease - Primary use is for Well/pad sites

LOC – License of Occupation - Primary use is for access roads

PLA – Pipeline Agreement - Required for buried pipelines, typically does not provide for any above-ground structures

PIL – Pipeline Installation Lease - Required for above ground structures on a PLA, such as riser sites & valve sites.

TFA – Temporary Field Authorization - Very specific use in the EAP manual – for temporary incidental activities that are outside the

size and proximity requirements as identified in the TFA Guidelines, ie: oversized log decks or borrow pits.

Short Term and Long Term Dispositions • Two stages to an EAP application:

• Short Term (Interim) Disposition • 4 year Term • Allows for a company to construct, drill and complete a site. • A Long Term Disposition (Final Disposition) must be applied for within the

4 years. Otherwise, the Short Term Disposition will expire and the land will revert back to the Crown. Notice will be provided to the Company of the impending expiry of the disposition.

• Long Term (Final) Disposition • 25 year Term on MSL’s, LOC’s, PIL’s • Indefinite Term on PLA’s. • Full application required including:

• Final As built survey plans, or a Statutory Declaration from the Surveyor • New LAT report (caution: review to ensure no new conditions are present that

would change the project to non-standard) • New Supplement forms • Copies of the Occupant consents – ensure that the disposition numbers are

noted on the Occupant consents.

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How is EAP different?

• Forces Industry into planning BEFORE application: • First Nations Consultation MUST be completed & deemed

adequate prior to application. • All Occupant Consents (ie: FMA, GRL etc) MUST be complete and

submitted at the time of application. Can no longer ‘follow’. • Applications cannot be amended. Revisions to an application

have to be: • Application withdrawn • New application submitted, incl. new Occupant consents, LATs and

encrypted plans. • Once Short Term Disposition issued, currently it cannot be amended. Any amendments required (ie: addt’l area) to be acquired on TFA (where applicable) and then captured in the Long Term Disposition.

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So you want to apply for a disposition?

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What you need: In order to apply for an EAP Short Term disposition, you need the following:

• First Nations Consultation, completed & deemed adequate by ACO

• Survey plan (encrypted file for submission) • LAT Reports

• Appropriate Supplemental Forms completed • Consent from any ‘Occupant’, including FMA holders or GRL holders

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First Nations Consultation

• To start the FNC process you will need from your project team:

FNC is administered in EDS. An Assessment Request is completed with all data and documents are uploaded through the EDS system.

ACO will process the Assessment Request and send back a Pre-Consultation Assessment (PCA) which will indicate which First Nations need to be consulted and at what level. It will also indicate the FNC number, which you will need to reference in all correspondence and for the application itself. KEEP THIS FORM!

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Map of the proposed development

Project Description

Pre-Consultation Assessment Request from ACO

FNC continued

• Once the FNC has been deemed adequate, the disposition application can proceed.

• FNC Timelines: • Expect the FNC process to take anywhere from 2-6 months.

• When entering the FNC number into EDS, as part of your EAP

application, the following format must be followed: • FNC201412345-001 • Older FNC numbers may still be accepted if valid (2 yrs). These

formats may differ, as sub-numbers only came about in September 2012.

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Survey Plan Requirements

• Most survey companies are well versed in Crown Survey plan requirements, as per the Survey Standards.

• EAP Short Term Disposition Applications can be submitted

with any of the following: • Actual Survey Plan • Sketch Plan • Sketch Plan created using LiDAR data

• You will need from your surveyor:

• PDF copy of the plan • Crown Encrypted file (this is uploaded with your application). • LAT Report for each disposition (ie: MSL and LOC) • At least one hard copy of the plan for each Occupant + one for your file.

Please note: Encrypted files and LAT reports can only be used ONCE. If your application gets rejected for any reason, you will require a new encrypted file and new LAT reports.

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Landscape Analysis Tool (LAT) Reports

• Most Survey companies provide LAT reports with the survey plan package. This ensures the LAT date matches the encrypted plan date.

• LAT reports can be ran by anyone with access to the Tool. • LAT conditions need to be reviewed and accepted by the Project

Team PRIOR to applying for the disposition. • The LAT report will become a part of the Disposition Letter of

Authority • If all conditions in the LAT can be met by the project, the

application can proceed as “Standard”. • If one or more conditions cannot be met by the project, the

application can proceed, but must be submitted as “Non-Standard”, and a mitigation strategy for the conditions in question must be provided.

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Application Supplements

• Four Supplement forms: • Sites and Installations (for both MSL and PIL’s) • Access (LOC) • Pipelines (PLA) • Non-Standard Mitigation Each EAP application requires an Application Supplement Form to be completed & submitted via EDS upon application. The Supplement forms outline project specifics as to construction, reclamation, and existing stakeholder consultation. The Supplement forms are updated regularly and should be pulled from the AER website to ensure the latest version is being used. Old forms will not be accepted if a newer version has been released. Non-Standard Mitigation forms are required if a project cannot meet all of the conditions in the LAT report.

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Consent of Occupants Prior to applying for an EAP disposition, all Occupants must provide written consent to the project.

• Occupants include: • FMA Holders • DTL, CTL Holders • GRL Holders

Occupant Consents must reference either the LAT report number, or the disposition number. If the LAT report number changes, the Occupant consent must be updated, or it will be rejected.

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Other Stakeholders

• Review the Crown search for other stakeholders such as: • CNT – Consultative Notation • PNT – Protective Notation • ISP – Industrial Sample Plot

• Such stakeholders need to be notified in a similar manner to D56

interested parties.

• The supplement forms now require Industry to notify and mitigate any concerns identified, prior to application.

• Need for detailed correspondence logs, above & beyond what is outlined in D56.

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Timelines • AESRD/AER states that their target turnaround time for a Standard

EAP application is 5 days, non-Standard is 21 days.

• Non-Standard applications are referred to the Land Use Officer for review of the condition and the provided mitigation strategy. • **It is important to discuss your project with the Land Use Officer prior

to application.

• The nature of EAP is to put ALL the planning on the front end of the application. Changes to a project once an application is submitted means that the application must be withdrawn, and a new application submitted. There are no ‘amendments’ in EAP.

• Transition from AESRD to the Alberta Energy Regulator appears to have resulted in longer processing times, even on standard applications.

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After the Application

• The Letter of Authority will be emailed to the submitter • AER no longer issues original paper documents for EAP

dispositions. • All EAP dispositions must have “Site Entry” notice given to AER

within 72 hours of Site Entry. • Ensure that your Construction Team advises you right away when

they enter a site (ie: clearing trees) • Report the Site Entry via EDS. • Keep a record of the Site Entry number on file.

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Long Term Dispositions • Once the site has been drilled, or pipeline constructed, and

within the 4 year term of the Short Term Disposition, the LTD application must be made. • Application requires:

• As-Built survey plans (incl. area acquired by TFA during construction), or Statutory Declaration from the Surveyor (form on SRD/AER website).

• Updated Application Supplement forms • Updated LAT reports • Any Revised consents

• Submitted through EDS: Amendments module • Long Term Disposition will be issued for a 25 year term. • ** Surface Rentals will always be calculated from the original date of the Short Term Disposition, despite the 25 year expiry is from the date of the Long Term Disposition.

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References

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Acronyms

• LAT – Landscape Analysis Tool • FMA – Forestry Management Area • GRL – Grazing Lease • CTL – Coniferous Timber License • DTL – Deciduous Timber License • FNC – First Nations Consultation • EDS – Electronic Disposition System • ETS – Electronic Transfer System • CNT – Consultative Notation • PNT – Protective Notation • ISP – Industrial Sample Plot

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Important Links

• Electronic Transfer System (ETS) • https://ets.energy.gov.ab.ca/ETS/logon.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fets%2fDefaul

t.aspx

• Electronic Dispositions System (EDS) • https://securexnet.env.gov.ab.ca/eds_login.html

• Enhanced Approval Process Website • http://esrd.alberta.ca/forms-maps-services/enhanced-approval-

process/default.aspx

• EAP Manuals & Guides • http://esrd.alberta.ca/forms-maps-services/enhanced-approval-

process/eap-manuals-guides/default.aspx?id=EAP • First Nations Consultation

• http://www.aboriginal.alberta.ca/1.cfm

• AER Forms • http://esrd.alberta.ca/forms-maps-services/forms/lands-forms/aer-

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Questions??

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