Environment committee  I believe so.

Environment committee  Not from us directly, but we can provide you with a copy from other groups who did it.

Environment committee  For the Athabasca?

Environment committee  Yes. Most of them are regionally scaled. We have observed that they are in pre-development conditions, meaning that they are not over-exploited. Second, we also observed that in most of the cases, for domestic, agricultural, and industrial use, people are using mostly the upper 200 metres--I would even say 150 metres--of depth.

Environment committee  Essentially it's the geology. Don't forget, as Mr. Trudeau already mentioned, in Canada we have preglacial, and after deglaciation, we have extensive areas of tills and clays that have accumulated and that prevent recharge because the permeability is very low. That's one of the reasons.

Environment committee  It's not only salt. Let me give you an example for comparison reasons. Salt water from the sea contains in the order of 31 grams per litre. The salt water in the area of the Athabasca has ten times more, 350 grams per litre, of TDS, or total dissolved salts. That is brine. It is extremely salty.

Environment committee  Yes. Let me tell you that they have systematically studied the three areas: Cold Lake, the Athabasca oil sands, and the Peace River oil sands. In these three cases, they used a four-step approach. First they studied the groundwater quantity. Next they studied the groundwater quality.

Environment committee  That's right. Exactly.

Environment committee  Yes. Hydrogeology has evolved, as well, in the last 30 to 35 years. It went from being a qualitative type of geological branch to a more quantitative physical, or chemical, hydrogeology. We have the tools. We understand the processes better. One thing is having the tools, knowing the processes and mechanisms.

Environment committee  I cannot speak on behalf of Alberta, but I can tell you from the point of view of hydrogeology and science and the experience we have with our program. I think I can wrap up your question in three points. This applies mostly everywhere, but particularly in the Athabasca oil sands, we need, and they need--we all need--to specify very clearly what is the sustainable safe yield off those aquifers.

Environment committee  Sure. Yes, there is a baseline, but we don't have it. We haven't done it. It's Alberta Environment that has it.

Environment committee  I do not know the exact dates.

Environment committee  We do.

Environment committee  The discussions have started, but the study itself is supposed to begin this summer.

Environment committee  We estimate it will cost approximately $3 million per aquifer over about three years. So that's approximately $1 million per year on average.