Oilsands tailing ponds approved

Alberta's energy watchdog has approved plans submitted by oilsands operators Fort Hills and Syncrude to deal with waste from their projects.

But the Energy Resources Conservation Board has slapped some conditions on the tailings pond proposals of Fort Hills, as well as Syncrude Canada Ltd.'s Mildred Lake and Aurora sites, all north of Fort McMurray.

Tailings are the byproduct of the oilsands extraction process and contain water, sand, silt, clay and residual bitumen.

The ERCB estimates tailings ponds now cover about 170 square kilometres across northern Alberta.

Such ponds gained notoriety in 2008 when 1,600 birds landed on one of Syncrude's ponds and died.

Last year, the ERCB ordered oilsands companies to clean up their tailings and keep the regulator up to speed on their plans.

Fort Hills and Syncrude were the first two operators to submit proposals.