Alberta oil sands water guide

Directive 085 and tailings management

AER Directive 085 implements Alberta’s Tailings Management Framework for mineable oil sands.

Directive 085AER

Editorial review: August 11, 2026 · Lydia M. Carstairs

System role

Operators have approved tailings-management plans, milestones and annual reporting obligations.

How it is managed

The framework requires progress toward deposits that are ready for reclamation within defined timelines.

Environmental context

Regulated plans and reporting improve accountability and provide real performance data.

What to keep in mind

They do not by themselves prove that accumulated tailings liabilities have been eliminated.

High-level industrial education only. Water-treatment chemistry, tailings facilities, steam systems and environmental controls are regulated site-specific systems; this site does not provide operating recipes, setpoints or procedures.