National ministers updated on mine water progress

Following the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) meeting in Calgary this week, Alberta's government is reporting progress on its work to safely and responsibly manage oilsands mine water and tailings. As host this year, Environment and Protected Areas Minister Grant Hunter provided federal, provincial and territorial environment ministers with an update on the work underway in Alberta to turn the committee's recommendations into action.

"Alberta brought oilsands mine water to a national audience because this is one of the most complex environmental challenges in the country. We are acting on every recommendation, engaging Indigenous communities, experts, industry and other governments, and building the policies, standards and monitoring needed to safely manage mine water and accelerate reclamation."

The Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee delivered nine recommendations in 2025. Alberta launched engagement in 2026 and is now advancing the policy, regulatory and technical work needed to implement those recommendations.

"The Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee has laid a strong foundation with practical, collaborative recommendations to address a complex environmental challenge. I'm encouraged by the progress to date and look forward to seeing this important work continue."

Alberta's government is advancing all nine recommendations from the Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee. Key progress updates on each recommendation are summarized below.

Segregation of water streams for use or release

Discussions with the Alberta Energy Regulator and industry were completed in late 2025 and early 2026 to better understand the barriers to adopting this practice and policy. A discussion document was shared with targeted stakeholders in spring 2026, webinars were held in early June, and the feedback is submitted and being reviewed.

Next steps include assessing how water management plans can be strengthened, reviewing opportunities for additional reuse and release of segregated water, and presenting the Muskeg River capacity assessment to Indigenous communities.

Sharing oilsands mine water between operations

Alberta is reviewing the feedback received and examining potential policy adjustments to improve how water management plans can better support sharing between operations, including opportunities created within the Water Act amendments to enable wastewater reuse, potential changes to the guidance on industrial wastewater reuse and the water conservation policy manual for upstream oil and gas - all to make practical water sharing easier to pursue where safe, feasible, and environmentally appropriate.

Sharing oilsands mine water across watersheds

The Steering Committee recommended that water should be managed within the watershed. Alberta is not advancing cross-watershed sharing as a preferred mine water management option. This reflects Alberta's watershed-based approach to water management and the significant environmental, regulatory and cost barriers identified by the committee. As part of the targeted engagement, stakeholders were invited to provide feedback on broader water sharing opportunities across the watershed including other water using sectors.

Alternative oilsands mine water treatment technologies

Alberta is advancing this recommendation through a $46-million investment in nine Emissions Reduction Alberta projects focused on oilsands mine water and tailings technologies. These projects are testing practical tools to reduce mine water and tailings volumes and support faster reclamation.

Engagements underway for the other recommendations

• Engagement on deep well disposal is underway. Alberta is meeting with industry, technology providers and others to understand storage capacity, timelines and technical constraints.
• Technical engagement launched with subject matter experts on how naphthenic acids should be measured and reported, ensuring standard methods are accurate and reliable, with a potential technical working group also being established.
• Engagement launched through 2026 to develop a policy framework for the safe treatment and release of oilsands mine water to inform future standards, guidance and regulatory criteria. Alberta's policy is to manage and treat water so it can be safely returned to the watershed.
• Engagement continues throughout 2026 to refine the approach to pit lakes, focusing on reclamation, design, ecological milestones, timelines and long-term outcomes.
• Engagement continues on inclusive monitoring strategies, with workshops planned for late 2026 to support enhanced public reporting and access to mine water information.

By bringing all this work to CCME, Alberta's government is showing national leadership on a long-standing environmental challenge. Progress will continue to be reported on as recommendations are implemented, while working with Indigenous communities, experts, industry, technology providers, the federal government, the Government of the Northwest Territories and local partners.

Quick facts

• Alberta is working toward a policy for the treatment and release of oilsands mine water, as recommended, along with all recommendations of the Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee.

• From 2020 to 2024, the Oil Sands Mine Water Science Team filled key scientific information gaps to inform the development of policies by the Government of Alberta for safe treat and release. The Science Team included participants from academia, First Nations and Métis communities, industry, and federal and provincial governments and regulators.
• All mines produce tailings, which are a mix of water, sand, clay and residual bitumen created during oil extraction.
• Alberta's oilsands tailings ponds hold more than 1.5 billion cubic metres of fluid tailings and more than 380 million cubic metres of mine water.
• From 2013 to 2024, oilsands mine operations reduced freshwater use per barrel by 19 per cent and increased recycled water use by 69 per cent.

Related information

• Oilsands mine water management engagement page

• Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee recommendations

• Oil Sands Mine Water Science Team reports

Related news

• Taking action on oilsands mine water (May 19, 2026)
• New tools to clean up tailings ponds (Mar. 4, 2026)