They're done with data in order to make the model predictions on what the outcome will be, but you're dealing with an industry that is evolving very rapidly in the techniques that are being used. If you look at the EIA that was originally filed for Suncor, I don't think you'll find mention of consolidated tails in there, because that's a new technology.
So there's enough information available in the EIA document for society to make a decision as to whether or not they want this to go forward, but the EIA documents are not chipped in stone by any stretch of the imagination. They are societal decisions based on what's in that EIA.