Glossary, Acronyms and Abbreviations · 2016-08-10 · Chronic exposure A relatively long duration of time (Health Canada considers periods of human exposure greater than 3 months

Glossary, Acronyms and Abbreviations

Devon NEC Corporation Pike 1 Project Environmental Impact Assessment June 2012

Glossary – Page 1

Glossary, Acronyms and Abbreviations

% percent

%AP percent change in aquifer productivity

eq/L microequivalent per litre

g microgram (one one-thousandth of a gram)

g/g micrograms per gram

g/kg bw/d micrograms per kilogram body weight per day

g/kg/d micrograms per kilogram per day

g/L micrograms per litre

g/m3 micrograms per cubic metre

g/m3 bw/d micrograms per cubic metre per kilogram of body weight per day

m micrometer

(NH4)2(SO4) ammonium sulphuate

S/cm microsiemens per centimeter

< less than

> more than

°C degrees celcius

AAAQO Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives

AAC annual allowable cut

ABMI Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute

ACA Alberta Conservation Association

ACB Alberta Cancer Board

ACCS Alberta Culture and Community Spirit

ACGIH American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists

ACIMS Alberta Conservation Information Management System (formerly ANHIC)

Admixing The mechanical mixing of discrete layers of soil during stripping and salvage operations.

Adverse effect An undesirable or harmful effect to an organism (human or animal), indicated by some result such as mortality, altered food consumption, altered body and organ weights, altered enzyme concentrations or visible pathological changes.

Ae horizon A surface horizon that has lost clay, organic matter, iron or aluminums through the process of eluviation.


Glossary – Page 2

AEAR anthropogenic edge to area ratio

AENV Alberta Environment

AEP Alberta Environmental Protection

AESO Alberta Electric System Operator

AEW Alberta Environment and Water

AGRASID Agricultural Region of Alberta Soil Inventory Database

AGS Alberta Geological Survey

Ah horizon An A horizon of organic matter accumulation containing less than 17% carbon.

Ahe horizon A surface horizon that was originally an Ah, but has since lost organic matter through the process of eluviation.

AHS Alberta Health Services

Alkalinity A measure of water’s capacity to neutralize an acid. It indicates the presence of carbonates, bicarbonates and hydroxides, and less significantly, borates, silicates, phosphates and organic substances. It is expressed as an equivalent of calcium carbonate. The composition of alkalinity is affected by pH, mineral composition, temperature and ionic strength. However, alkalinity is normally interpreted as a function of carbonates, bicarbonates and hydroxides. The sum of these three components is called total alkalinity.

Alkane A member of a series of saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons.

Al-Pac Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc.

ALSA aquatics local study area

ALT Athabasca Landscape Team

Ambient air The air in the surrounding atmosphere.

Ambient noise The pre-existing sound environment of a location before the introduction of, or in absence of, noise from a specific source, which also affects the sound environment of that location.

AMD air monitoring directive

AMS adaptive management strategy

Anthropogenic man-made

AP activity product

API Alberta Peatland Inventory. A system of classifying and mapping peatlands on the basis of air photo interpretation and ecological characteristics.

AQLSA air quality local study area

AQRSA air quality regional study area


Glossary – Page 3

Aquiclude A hydrogeologic unit of such low permeability that it effectively prevents any movement of water through it or reduces water movement to such a low value relative to the surrounding materials that it can be considered an impervious barrier.

Aquifer Any water-saturated body of geological material (hydrogeologic unit) from which enough water can be drawn at a reasonable cost for the purpose required. A common usage of the term aquifer is to indicate the water-bearing material in any area from which water is most easily extracted.

Aquifer test A method of obtaining quantitative information on the hydraulic characteristics of an aquifer by removing water from the aquifer in a controlled manner and measuring the groundwater surface or piezometric response. Often referred to as a pumping test or drawdown test.

Aquitard A hydrogeologic unit of intermediate permeability between an aquifer and an aquiclude. An aquitard allows some measure of leakage between the aquifers it separates.

ARSA aquatics regional study area

ASIR age standardized incidence rates

ASL ambient sound level

ASMR age-standardized mortality rates

ASP area structure plan

ASRD Alberta Sustainable Resource Development

AST aboveground storage tank

ASWQG Alberta Surface Water Quality Guidelines

ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Attenuation A reduction in sound level that occurs with sound propagation over distance by means of physical dissipation or absorption mechanisms, or a reduction in sound level that occurs by means of noise control measures applied to a sound source.

ATV all-terrain vehicle

AUOMA Alberta Used Oil Management Association

avg average

AVI Alberta Vegetation Inventory - a system of classifying and mapping an area on the basis of the dominant tree species.

A-weighted level or dBA A measurement of overall sound pressure level that accounts for the frequency content of the measured sound assessed with a frequency response similar to that of the human ear.

AWI Alberta Wetland Inventory - a system of classifying and mapping wetlands on the basis of vegetation composition, peat characteristics and water dynamics in the system.

Background An area not influenced by chemicals or noise released from the site under evaluation.


Glossary – Page 4

Background concentration (environmental)

The concentration of a chemical in a defined control area during a fixed period of time before, during or after a data-gathering operation.

Baseline A surveyed condition that serves as a reference point to which later surveys are coordinated or correlated.

Basic sound level The allowable sound level at a residential location, as defined by the EUB directive, with the inclusion of industrial presence based on dwelling unit density and proximity to transportation noise sources.

bbl barrel

bbl/d barrels per day

BCS Bureau of Chemical Safety

Bedrock The body of rock that underlies the gravel, soil or other superficial material.

Benthic invertebrates Organisms that live at the bottom of lakes, ponds or streams.

Benzene A colourless, liquid, flammable, aromatic hydrocarbon that boils at 80.1ºC and freezes at 5.4-5.5ºC. It is used to manufacture styrene and phenol.

BHL Beaverhill Lake Group

Bioaccumulation A general term, meaning that an organism stores within its body, a higher concentration of a substance than is found in the environment. This is not necessarily harmful. Many toxicants, such as arsenic, can be handled and excreted by aquatic organisms, so that they are not included among the dangerous bioaccumulative substances.

Bioconcentration A process in which an organism receives a net accumulation of a chemical as a result of direct exposure to the chemical.

Bitumen Extra heavy crude oil, generally more dense than 14ºAPI.

BLCN Beaver Lake Cree Nation

BMP best management practice

Boundary condition In a numerical groundwater model, a specified value of hydraulic head (Dirichlet condition), a specified groundwater flux (Neumann condition), or a specified relationship between hydraulic head and groundwater flux (Cauchy or mixed boundary conditions). Boundary conditions are required at the boundaries of the model domain.

BP BP Canada Energy Group ULC

Buffering capacity A measure of the ability of a soil or water system to neutralize acid input.

C&R conservation and reclamation

Ca2+ calcium base cation (particle)

CAC criteria air contaminant

CaCl2 calcium chloride

CaCO3 calcium carbonate


Glossary – Page 5

CADD computer aided drafting design

CAESA Canada-Alberta Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture

CaHCO3 calcium bicarbonate

CALGRID California Petrochemical Grid Model

CALMET California meteorological model. Used to process meteorological data for input into the CALPUFF model.

CALPUFF California puff model, used to estimate ambient concentrations of substances in air, and deposition of those substances (e.g., acid deposition).

Cancer A disease characterized by the rapid and uncontrolled growth of aberrant cells into malignant tumors.

CAPP Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

Carcinogen An agent that is reactive or toxic enough to directly cause cancer.

CASA Clean Air Strategic Alliance

CCME Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment

CCS Canadian Cancer Society

CDWQG Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines

CEA cumulative effects assessment

CEC cation exchange capacity

CEMA Cumulative Environmental Management Association

CEQG Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines

CH4 methane

Chronic exposure A relatively long duration of time (Health Canada considers periods of human exposure greater than 3 months to be chronic while the U.S. EPA only considers human exposures that are greater than seven years to be chronic).

Chronic toxicity The development of adverse effects after an extended exposure to relatively small quantities of a chemical.

Chronic toxicity unit Measurement of long duration toxicity that produces an adverse effect on organisms.

CLAWR Cold Lake Air Weapons Range

CLFN Cold Lake First Nation

CLRWMA Christina Lake Regional Water Management Agreement

cm centimeter

cm/s centimetres per second


Glossary – Page 6

CN curve number – numbers used to estimate the amount of precipitation that runs off a surface and the amount that infiltrates into the soil. Curve numbers depend on the soil type, land use, ground condition and cover, and antecedent moisture conditions.

CNRL Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.

CO carbon monoxide

CO2 carbon dioxide

CO2E carbon dioxide equivalents

CO2E/y carbon dioxide equivalents per year

Cogeneration The simultaneous onsite generation of electrical power and process steam or heat from one plant.

Concentration (Conc.) Quantifiable amount of a chemical in environmental media.

Confined aquifer A completely saturated aquifer with upper and lower boundaries that are impervious layers. In confined aquifers, the pressure of the water is higher than that of the atmosphere and the water in wells stands above the top of the aquifer.

Conservative approach Approach taken to incorporate protective assumptions to ensure that risks will not be underestimated.

Convergence tolerance The permissible difference between computed hydraulic heads for successive computer calculations when calculating the hydraulic heads using a numerical groundwater flow model. The convergence tolerance is set to a small value to give an acceptable mass balance error.

COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

COSEWIC Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada

COSIA Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance

CPDFN Chipewyan Prairie Dené First Nation

CPF central processing facility

CPUE catch per unit of effort

CRISP Comprehensive Regional Infrastructure Sustainability Plan

CRSA caribou regional study area

CS2 carbon disulphide

CSC Construction Sector Council

CV chemical values

CWE cold water equivalent

CWQG Canadian Water Quality Guideline

CWS Canada-Wide Standard

d day


Glossary – Page 7

dam decametre (10 metres)

dam3 decametre cubed (thousand cubic metres)

dB and dBA decibel

dBC c-weighted decibel

dbh diameter breast height

DCIMS Devon Corporate Incident Management System

DDS digital data submission

Development area The area of sufficient bitumen resource delineation to permit appropriate development.

Devon Devon NEC Corporation

Devonian A period of the Paleozoic era thought to have covered the span of time between 400 and 345 million years ago; also, the corresponding system of rocks.

Dewatering Removal of groundwater from a geological formation using wells or a drainage ditch system.

DFO Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Diagenesis Process involving physical and chemical changes in groundwater. This includes solution of soluble minerals, cation exchange between groundwater and rock, ion diffusion, etc.

Dilbit Bitumen diluted with C5+ condensate.

Disposal well A well into which saline water or spent chemical is pumped; most commonly part of a process wastewater disposal system.

DNA deoxyribonucleic acid

DO dissolved oxygen

Dose A measure of integral exposure. Examples include (1) the amount of chemical ingested, (2) the amount of a chemical taken up, and (3) the product of ambient exposure concentration and the duration of the exposure.

Dose Rate Dose per unit time, e.g., in mg/d; sometimes also called dosage. Dose rates are often expressed on a per-unit-body-weight basis, yielding units such as mg/kg body weight/day expressed as averages over a specified time period, e.g., a lifetime.

Dose-response The quantitative relationship between exposure of an organism to a chemical and the extent of the adverse effect resulting from that exposure.

Drawdown Lowering of water level caused by pumping.

Drawdown cone A conical groundwater surface created in an unconfined aquifer due to pumping, or an imaginary conical surface indicating pressure relief in a confined aquifer due to pumping.

Drift deposits Any sediment laid down by, or in association with, the activity of glaciers and ice sheets.

dS/m decisiemens per metre


Glossary – Page 8

DST drillstem test – a device used in a borehole to measure the hydraulic properties of a tested interval and/or to collect fluid sample.

dv deciview

e3m3 thousand cubic metres

e6 million

EC electrical conductivity

ECO2 CO2 equivalents - an expression of the total amount of greenhouse gases in the air, taking into account their relative contributions to global warming and climate change, as if all substances were CO2.

EDGE Employee Development Generating Excellence

Effective porosity The percentage of the total volume of a given mass of soil or rock that consists of interconnecting voids.

EH&S Environmental Health and Safety

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment – a review of the effects a proposed development will have on the local environment and the regional environment.

ELC Ecological Land Classification – a system of mapping based on vegetation composition and soil type.

EMS emergency medical services

EMT emergency medical technician

EnCana EnCana Corporation (successor company to PanCanadian Petroleum)

Endangered species A species facing imminent extirpation or extinction in Canada (COSEWIC 1997).

Energy equivalent sound level or Leq

A single number descriptor commonly used for environmental noise measurements and criteria. The Leq is used to quantify sound that constantly varies over time, such as sound commonly occurring in outdoor environments. Leq is defined as the steady, continuous sound level over the measured time period that has the same acoustic energy as the actual fluctuating sound levels that occurred during the same time period. Measurement periods commonly used for Leq measurements and criteria are daytime (07:00 - 22:00 hrs) and nighttime (22:00 - 07:00 hrs).

Eolian A designation of rocks and soils with constituents that have been carried and laid down by atmospheric currents.

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

EPEA Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (Alberta)

EPT ephemeroptera, plecoptera and trichoptera – orders of aquatic insects. This category is used as a monitoring parameter to detect changes in biology due to changes in water quality.

EPT:C EPT abundance to chironomidae (C)

ERCB Energy Resources Conservation Board


Glossary – Page 9

ERCB Directive One of a series of documents issued by the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board to provide regulations, standards and guidelines for the conduct of hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation in Alberta.

Erosion The process by which material, such as rock or soil, is worn away or removed by wind or water.

ERP emergency response plan

ESA environmentally sensitive area – an area designated as sensitive due to significant habitat, wildlife, landforms, or cultural features.

ESAR East Side Athabasca Region

ESCC Alberta Endangered Species Conservation Committee

et al. group of authors

Evapotranspiration Combined term for water lost as vapour from the soil/water surface (evaporation) and water lost through plants (transpiration).

Exceedance An emission or ambient concentration with a measured value that is greater than that allowed by government regulations.

Exposure The contact between a chemical and a biological system or organism.

Exposure concentration The concentration of a chemical in its transport or carrier medium at the point of contact.

Exposure limit An estimate of the daily dose of chemical allowed over an entire lifetime, without experiencing adverse health effects, or with an acceptable degree of risk (for non-threshold chemicals) associated with exposures. Exposure limits are expressed in mg/kg body weight/day.

Exposure pathway The route by which a receptor comes into contact with a chemical or physical agent. Examples of exposure pathways include the ingestion of water, food, and soil, the inhalation of air and dust, and dermal absorption.

FCSS Family and Community Support Services

Fe2+ iron, ferrous speciation

Fe2O3 hematite

FEED front end engineering design

FEFLOW finite element subsurface flow

FEM finite element model

FEMP Fugitive Emissions Management Plan

Flare A device for disposing of combustible gases from refining or chemical processes by burning in the open.

FM#468FN Fort McMurray #468 First Nation

FMA forest management area

FMI formation micro imager


Glossary – Page 10

FMU forest management unit

FSL full supply level

FWKO free water knockout

FWMIS Fisheries and Wildlife Management Information System

g gram

g/d grams per day

g/s grams per second

GDP gross domestic product

Geomorphology The study of the landforms on the earth’s surface and of the processes that formed them.

GHG greenhouse gas – a substance in air that may trap radiated heat from Earth, thereby increasing ambient temperatures.

GIC Groundwater Information Centre

GIS Geographic Information System

GJ or Gj Gigajoule (109 Joules)

GJ/d or Gj/d Gigajoule per day

GJ/h or Gj/h Gigajoule per hour

Glaciofluvial Sediments or landforms produced by meltwaters originating from a glacier or ice sheet.

GLC ground level concentration

Gleysolic soil A great group of soils in the Gleysolic order. A Gleysolic soil is characterized by the presence of a gleyed horizon (e.g., Bg, Btg) formed by intermittent contact with the water table.

GLIMP Geographic Land Information Management Planning System for Surface Dispositions

GMP groundwater monitoring programs

GPS Global Positioning System

GR gamma ray

Groundwater Subsurface water that occurs in soils and geological formations (in the pores/voids within rocks both unconsolidated and consolidated). It is the water within the Earth that supplies water wells and springs.

Groundwater flow model A simplified representation of one or more groundwater flow systems.

GWWG groundwater working group

h hour

H+ hydrogen cation



H20 water

H2S hydrogen sulphide

HA hydraulic head

ha hectare

Habitat The part of the physical environment in which a plant or animal lives.

HBC Hudson’s Bay Company

HC Health Canada

HCl hydrogen chloride

HDPE high-density polyethylene

HEMP Human Exposure Monitoring Program

HHRA human health risk assessment – the process of defining and quantifying risks and determining the acceptability of those risks to human life.

HI haze index

Historic site Any location with detectable evidence of past human activity.

Historical resource A work of nature or by humans, valued for its palaeontological, archaeological, prehistoric, historic, cultural, natural, scientific or aesthetic interest.

HLFN Heart Lake First Nation

HNO3 nitric acid (gas)

HRIA Historical Resources Impact Assessment – a review of the effects a proposed development will have on the local and regional historic and prehistoric heritage of an area.

HRR Horse River soil

HRV historical resource values

Hydraulic conductivity A coefficient “K” that depends on the physical properties of geological formation and fluid. It describes the ease with which a fluid flows through a porous material. “K” is proportional to the rate of flow per unit cross-sectional area under the influence of a unit gradient, and has the dimension of: Length3/Length2 x Time or Length/Time (e.g., m/s) but should not be confused with velocity.

Hydraulic gradient The change in groundwater elevation per unit of distance in a given direction. If not specified, the direction generally is understood to be that of the maximum rate of decrease in head. This coefficient is dimensionless.

Hydraulic head A measure of the potential energy of a fluid. For groundwater, the hydraulic head at a specific point is the level to which groundwater will rise above a fixed datum (usually sea level) in an observation well.

Hydrochemical type The classification of groundwater based on its chemical composition (cation and anion concentrations).



Hydrogeology The science that relates to groundwater. Groundwater, as used here, includes all water beneath the earth’s surface, except water chemically combined in minerals.

Hydrograph A graph showing water surface elevations or flow versus time.

Hydrostratigraphic unit A group of water-saturated porous materials with similar hydraulic properties treated collectively as a single aquifer, aquitard or aquiclude.

ID interim directive

IDF intensity-duration-frequency – curves that describe rainfall events.

IHDA interactive health data application

ILCR incremental lifetime cancer risk

INAC Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

Increase in sound level The perceived increase in loudness of a sound does not correspond directly to numerical increases in dBA values. Typically, an increase of less than 3 dBA is barely noticeable, an increase of 5 dBA is noticeable, an increase of 10 dBA is perceived as a doubling in apparent loudness, and an increase of 20 dBA is perceived as a four-fold increase in apparent loudness.

Infiltration The flow or movement of precipitation or surface water through the ground surface into the ground. Infiltration is the main factor in recharging groundwater.

Invertebrate An animal without a backbone and internal skeleton.

IOM Institute of Medicine

IR Indian Reserve

ISA intermediate study area

ISO International Organization for Standardization

ISP industrial sample plot

ISQG Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines

IWCP industrial wildfire control plan

JWG joint working group

keq kilogram equivalent – equal to 1 kmol of hydrogen ion (H+)

keq/ha/y kiloequivalent per hectares per year

kg kilogram

kg/d kilograms per day

kg/h kilograms per hour

kg/ha kilograms per hectare

kg/ha/y kilograms per hectare per year

KIR key indicator resource



km kilometer

km/km2 kilometer by kilometer squared

km2 square kilometre

km-d length of transect x days since last snowfall.

KNOC Korea National Oil Corporation

kt kilotonne

kt/y kilotonnes per year

L litre

L90 The sound level exceeded 90% of the time.

LARP Lower Athabasca Regional Plan

LCC Land Capability Classification – a system of classifying a soil’s capability to sustain a commercial forest.

Leakage The induced flow of water from one hydrogeological unit to another.

Leq energy equivalent sound level

LFH leaf-fibre-humic substances – a soil horizon.

LiDAR light detection and ranging

Lithology A term usually used to describe the composition and texture of sediments and rocks.

LL lower lift – used in reference to the removal and stockpiling of subsoil.

LO lookout

LOAEL lowest-observed-adverse-effect-level – the lowest concentration in a medium that causes an adverse effect that is significantly (statistically) different than that of the control(s).

LOC licence of occupation

LOS level of service

LP low pressure

LSA local study area

LUF land use framework

LWG land working group

m metre

m/s metres per second

m2 square metre

m3 cubic metre



m3/d cubic metres per day

m3/h cubic metres per hour

m3/ha cubic metres per hectare

m3/s cubic metres per second

MAPS monitoring avian productivity and survivorship

masl metres above sea level

mbgs metres below ground surface

mbsl metres below sea level

mD milidarcy

MDL method detection limit

MEG MEG Energy Corporation

meq milliequivalents

mg milligrams

Mg(OH)2 magnesium hydroxide

mg/kg/d milligrams per kilograms body weight per day

mg/L milligrams per litre

mg/m3 milligrams per cubic metre

Mg2+ magnesium base cation (particle)

MIL Mildred soil

min minimum

Mineralization of groundwater

Synonymous with total dissolved solid concentration.

MM million

mm millimeter

MM5 Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model

MMbbl million barrels

Model calibration The process of matching the hydraulic heads and groundwater flows in a numerical groundwater flow model with observed values.

Model domain The region of interest for a numerical model (e.g., air quality, groundwater flow).

Modeling A simplified representation of a relationship or system of relationships. Modelling involves calculation techniques used to make quantitative estimates of an output parameter based on its relationship to input parameters. The input parameters influence the value of the output parameters.



MPOI maximum point of impingement

mS/cm millisiemens per centimetre

MSC Meteorological Service of Canada

MSDS material data safety sheet

MSL mineral surface lease

MVA megavolt-amperes

MW megawatt

N nitrogen

n/a not applicable

N2O nitrous oxide (gas)

NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standard

NACE National Association of Corrosion Engineers (former name of NACE International, The Corrosion Society)

NaCl sodium chloride

NaHCO3 sodium-bicarbonate

NH4 ammonia (particle)

NH4NO3 ammonium nitrate

NIA noise impact assessment

NLHR Northern Lights Health Region

NLRHR Northern Lights Regional Health Centre

NO2 nitrogen dioxide (gas)

NO3 nitrate (particle)

NO3/NO2 nitrate/nitrite

NOAEL no-observed-adverse-effect-level – the highest dose of a stressor to an organism evaluated in a toxicity test that causes no statistically significant difference in effect as compared with the controls.

Noncarcinogen A chemical that does not cause cancer and has a threshold concentration.

Non-Saline Water with a total dissolved solids concentration less than 4 000 mg/L (ppm), as defined in the Water Act (Alberta) and Water Conservation and Allocation Guideline for Oilfield Injection.

NOX Gaseous oxides of nitrogen (NO, NO2) or all nitrogen species (e.g., NO2, N2O, N3O).

NTS national topographic series

NTU nephelometric turbidity units



Numerical model of groundwater flow

A computer-based representation of one or more groundwater flow systems that is solved numerically. The numerical model calculates the distribution of hydraulic head and the resulting groundwater flow by subdividing a region of interest (the model domain) into discrete areas, defining the mathematical representations for each area and solving the resulting set of equations through numerical methods. Numerical groundwater flow models are typically used for groundwater flow systems with complex boundary conditions, geometry or hydrostratigraphy.

NWC Northwest Company

O3 ozone

Observation well A constructed, controlled point of access to an aquifer, which allows groundwater observations. Small diameter observation wells are often called piezometers.

OEHHA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Association (California)

Oil sands An unconsolidated, porous sand formation or sandstone containing or impregnated with petroleum or hydrocarbons.

Olfactory Relating to the sense of smell.

OLM ozone limiting method

OMOE Ontario Ministry of the Environment

ORF oil removal filters

Organics Chemical compounds, naturally occurring or otherwise, which contain carbon, with the exception of carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbonates (e.g., CaCO3).

OSDG Oil Sands Developers Group

OSLI Oil Sands Leadership Initiative

Overburden Any loose material that overlies bedrock (often used as a synonym for Quaternary sediments and/or surficial deposits).

Any barren material, consolidated or loose, that overlies an ore body.

P phosphorus

PAH Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon – a chemical byproduct of petroleum. Aromatics are considered to be highly toxic components of petroleum products. PAHs are comprised of at lease two fused benzene rings, many of which are potential carcinogens. Toxicity increases along with molecular size and degree of alkylation of the aromatic nucleus.

PAI Potential acid input – a measure of the total deposition of acidifying substances (including sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonium and base cations).

Paleotopography ancient topographic surface

Paleozoic An era of geologic time, from the end of the Precambrian to the beginning of the Mesozoic, or from about 570 to about 225 million years ago. Also, the rocks deposited during the Paleozoic.

PDA predisturbance assessment

PDC Planned Development Case



Permeability A physical property of a porous medium measured as its ability to allow fluids to pass through it. Permeability has dimensions of Length2. When measured in cm2, the value of permeability is very small, therefore more practical units – darcy (D) or millidarcy (mD) – are commonly used. Synonymous with the “coefficient of hydraulic conductivity”.

Permissible sound level The allowable overall A-weighted sound level of noise from energy industry sources, as specified by the EUB Noise Control Directive, which may contribute to the sound environment of a residential location.

pH A measure of the acidity or alkalinity (based upon the concentration of the hydrogen ion) of a solution. The pH is expressed as the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion concentration.

Phreatic surface Synonymous with unconfined groundwater surface.

Physiography Synonymous with geomorphology.

Piezometer An instrument for measuring fluid pressure. See observation well.

Piezometric surface An imaginary surface that everywhere coincides with the static level of the water in the aquifer. The surface to which the water from a given aquifer will rise under its full hydraulic head.

Pixel picture element - the spatial basis of a digital image.

PLA pipeline agreement

PM particulate matter – may be relatively large and derived from crustal sources such as road dust (>10 m), or relatively small and derived from combustion sources (both natural and anthropogenic; 2.5 to 10 m), or may be derived through reactions in the atmosphere (secondary particulates; <2.5 m).

PM10 particulate matter – with particles nominally smaller than 10 m in diameter.

PM2.5 particulate matter – fine fraction (particles less than 2.5 m in diameter).

Pneumatic piezometer A device used to measure hydrostatic and/or pore pressure in a borehole or engineered structure.

PNT protective notation

Potentiometric Synonymous with piezometric.

ppb parts per billion

ppbv parts per billion by volume

ppm parts per million

ppmv parts per million by volume

Project area The area within which all direct project disturbances will occur.

PSL permissible sound level

PSV pressure safety valve

PTAC Petroleum Technology Association of Canada



PVC polyvinyl chloride

Q quarter (i.e., three months of a year)

Q20 20-year safe yield

RADS reactive airway dysfunction syndrome

RAMP Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program

RBIP recoverable bitumen in place

RCE CAPP Responsible Canadian Energy Program

RCMP Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Receptor The person or organism subjected to chemical exposure.

Recharge Water added to the saturated zone from any source. This term is commonly combined with other terms to indicate some specific mode of recharge, such as recharge well, recharge area or artificial recharge.

Reclamation The process of stabilizing and returning disturbed land to a natural state of equivalent or better capability.

Recovery test A method of obtaining quantitative information on the hydraulic characteristics of an aquifer, routinely used following a pumping test. After pumping has been terminated, the water level stops dropping and begins to rise toward its original position. The water level rise can be measured as residual drawdowns; i.e., as the difference between the original water level prior to pumping and the actual water level measured at a given time after pumping has stopped.

Redox reduction-oxidation

Reference value The maximum acceptable dose (per unit body weight and unit of time) of a chemical to which a specified receptor can be exposed, assuming a specified risk (e.g., one in one hundred thousand). May be expressed as a reference dose (RfD) for threshold-response chemicals or as a risk-specific dose (RsD) for non-threshold response chemicals.

REL reference exposure level

RELAD Regional Langrangian Acid Deposition model – a model used to estimate acid deposition (as PAI).

RES regional emergency services

RfC reference concentration – refers to the safe levels of airborne chemicals in which the primary (and almost exclusive) avenue of exposure is through inhalation (e.g., gases, vapours, aerosols). RfC is expressed as a concentration of the chemical in air (e.g., µg m-3).

RfD reference dose – the maximum recommended daily exposure for a chemical exhibiting a threshold (highly non-linear) dose-response based on the NOAEL determined for the chemical from human and/or animal studies and the use of an appropriate uncertainty factor.

RFMA registered fur management area

Rge Range



Risk The likelihood or probability that the toxic effects associated with a chemical will be produced in populations of individuals under their actual conditions of exposure. Risk is usually expressed as the probability of occurrence of an adverse effect, i.e., the expected ratio between the number of individuals who would experience an adverse effect at a given time and the total number of individuals exposed to the factor. Risk is expressed as a fraction without units, and takes values from 0 (absolute certainty that there is no risk, which can never be shown) to 1.0, where there is absolute certainty that a risk will occur.

Risk assessment The process whereby all available scientific information is brought together to produce a description of the nature and magnitude of the risk associated with exposure of human receptors to an environmental chemical.

Risk-based concentration

An exposure criterion that is based on the likelihood of an effect occurring.

RIVAD/ARM3 Regional Impact in Visibility and Acid Deposition/Acid Rain Mountain Mesocale model

RIVM Netherlands National Institute of Public Health and the Environment

RMWB Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

ROW rights-of-way

RQ risk quotients

RSA regional study area

RSC reduced sulphur compounds

RsC risk-specific concentration

RsD Risk-specific dose – the reference value determined for chemicals assumed to act as genotoxic, (risk-specific dose) non-threshold carcinogens. An RsD is a function of carcinogenic potency (q1) and defined acceptable risk (i.e., q1 divide target level or risk; for example, the RsD for a lifetime cancer risk of one-in-one-million would equal to q1 divided by 1x 106).

RSDS Regional Sustainable Development Strategy for the Athabasca Oil Sands Area – a document that sets out the provincial framework for developing management strategies for resolution of environmental issues.

s second

S sulphur

SAGD Steam assisted gravity drainage – a process of extracting bitumen by injecting steam through a series of wells into a formation containing bitumen, and recovering the released bitumen through a second set of wells.

Saline groundwater Water with a total dissolved solids concentration greater than 4 000 mg/L (ppm), as defined in the Water Act (Alberta) and Water Conservation and Allocation Guideline for Oilfield Injection.

SARA Species at Risk Act

SCA soil correlation area

SCR selective catalytic reduction



SCS soil conservation service

Sd Standard deviation

Sec section

Seepage Slow water movement in subsurface. Flow of water from fabricated retaining structures. A spot or zone where water oozes from the ground, often forming the source of a

small spring.

SEIA socio-economic impact assessment

SESA socio-economic study area

SEWG Sustainable Ecosystems Working Group of the Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA)

SI suitability Index

SIL Soil inventory level – the intensity of sampling required in areas to be developed (SIL1; 1 sample per 1 to 5 ha), near developing areas (SIL2; 1 sample per 2 to 30 ha) and in areas distant from the development but within the LSA (SIL3; 1 sample per 30 ha or more).

SiO2 silicone dioxide (silica)

SLCN Saddle Lake Cree Nation

Sm3/d standard cubic metres per day

SMC surface mineral licence

SME surface material exploration

SMOG UCLA Surface Meteorology and Ozone Generation Model

SO2 sulphur dioxide

SO42- sulphate (partion)

Soil amendment An alteration of the properties of a soil by adding substances such as lime, gypsum and sawdust to make the soil more suitable for the growth of plants. Fertilizers constitute a special group of soil amendments.

SoJ Statement of Justification

Sound level contribution The contribution of noise from one or more sources to the overall sound level from all sources affecting a particular location.

Sound power level A measurement of the acoustic energy of a sound source, which uses a logarithmic scale and which is normally calculated from sound pressure level measurements near the source.

Sound pressure level A physical measurement of sound, which uses a logarithmic scale and which quantifies the amplitude or volume of acoustic pressure waves propagating through the air.

SOX oxides of sulphur



SPE Society of Petroleum Engineers

Special Concern Species at risk in Canada due to low or declining numbers, small range or other reasons (COSEWIC 2011).

Specified head cell A grid cell with a specified value of hydraulic head.

spp. species (plural)

SRU sulphur removal unit

Stakeholder People or organizations with an interest or share in an undertaking, such as a commercial venture.

Standpipe A device consisting of a perforated/slotted pipe often used in the past to measure depth to groundwater surface at shallow depths.

STC sound transmission class

Storage coefficient The storage coefficient and the specific yield are both defined as the volume of water released or stored per unit surface area of an aquifer per unit change in the component of head normal to that surface. Storage is designated by the symbol S and specific yield is designated by the symbol Sy, both are dimensionless.

The storage coefficient refers only to the confined parts of an aquifer and depends on the thickness and specific storage of the aquifer. The specific storage (Ss) is a function of the elasticity of the aquifer material, compressibility of the fluid and has units of m-1. The specific yield refers to the unconfined parts of an aquifer. In practice, the specific yield may be considered to equal the effective porosity or drainable pore space because, in unconfined aquifers, the effects of the elasticity of aquifer material and fluid are generally negligible.

Small pores do not contribute to the effective pore space because, in small pores, the retention forces are greater than the weight of the water. For sands, the specific yield may be in the order of 0.1 to 0.2.

In American literature, the terms storage coefficient and specific yield are often used synonymously.

Storativity Synonym for the storage coefficient.

Stratigraphy The geological science concerned with the study of sedimentary rocks in terms of time and space.

Subcrop Bedrock unit occurring at the bedrock surface but covered by overburden deposits.

Surficial deposits See overburden.

SWQGA Surface Water Quality Guidelines for use in Alberta

Synbit Bitumen diluted with synthetic crude.

t tonne

t/d tonne per day

TCEQ Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

TCM total conversion method

TD total depth



TDG transportation of dangerous goods

TDS total dissolved solids, in water

TEK traditional ecological knowledge

TEQ toxic equivalency quotient

Thalweg The line extending down the channel that follows the lowest elevation of the bed.

THC total hydrocarbon

Threatened species Species likely to become endangered in Canada without a reversal of factors affecting their survival (COSEWIC 1997).

TIA traffic impact assessment

TKN total Kjeldahl nitrogen

TLSA terrestrial local study area

TLU traditional land use

TOC total organic carbon

TOR Terms of Reference

Toxic A substance, dose, or a concentration that is harmful to a living organism.

Toxicity The inherent potential or capacity of a material to cause adverse effects in a living organism.

TPH total petroleum hydrocarbon

TPR timber productivity rating

Transmissivity The product of the average coefficient of hydraulic conductivity and the thickness of the aquifer. Consequently, transmissivity is the rate of flow under a hydraulic gradient equal to unity through a cross-section of unit width over the whole thickness of the aquifer. Transmissivity is designated by the symbol T and has the dimension of:

Length3/Time x Length or Length2/Time (e.g., m2/d)

TRSA terrestrial regional study area

TSS total suspended solids – particles suspended in water.

Twp Township

UCLM upper confidence limit of the mean

UL Upper lift, in reference to the process of removing and stockpiling topsoil.

Uncertainty factor A unitless numerical value applied to a reference toxicological value (i.e., NOAEL) to account for uncertainties in the experimental data used to derive the toxicological value (e.g., short testing period, lack of species diversity, small test group) and to increase the confidence in the safety of the exposure dose as it applies to species other than the test species (e.g., sensitive individuals in the human population). RfD equals the NOAEL divided by the uncertainty factor.



Unconfined aquifer A permeable bed or aquifer, only partly saturated with water and overlying a relatively impervious layer. Its upper boundary is formed by a free water table under atmospheric pressure. Water in a well penetrating an unconfined aquifer does not, in general, rise above the water surface, except when there is vertical flow.

Uptake The process by which a chemical crosses an absorption barrier and is absorbed into the body.

US United States of America

US EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency

USLE universal soil loss equation

UTM Universal Transverse Mercator

UV ultraviolet

UWI unique well identifier

VEC valued ecosystem component

VOC volatile organic compound – a class of organic chemicals that volatilize under ambient conditions. May be of natural or anthropogenic origin.

Vol. volume

VPM visible particulate matter

VSC valued socio-economic components

VSP vertical seismic profile

VSU valued social components

VWP vibrating wire piezometers

W4M west of the fourth meridian

WAC weak acid cation

Water-bearing Containing water within the void spaces.

WBEA Wood Buffalo Environmental Association

WCSS Western Canadian Spill Services

WFL 128 Whitefish Lake First Nation #128 (Goodfish Lake)

WHMIS Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System

WHO World Health Organization

WI working interest

Wildlife corridors Linear landscape features that allow movement of animals between larger patches of habitat.

WMU wildlife management unit



WRS Western Resource Solutions

WSAR West Side Athabasca Region

WSC Water Survey of Canada

∆Q change in groundwater flux or discharge

Documents

Glossary, Acronyms and Abbreviations · 2016-08-10 · Chronic exposure A relatively long duration of time (Health Canada considers periods of human exposure greater than 3 months