Decision

A decision is made on the application under the authority of the Public Land Act: Sections 15 and 16. The "director" may issue or refuse to issue a formal disposition, authorization or approval. They may also define terms and conditions that are more stringent than the Act or Regulations, but they cannot be less stringent (Public Lands Administration Regulation: Sections 10, 12 and 14).

Notification of Decision

After your application is submitted, you will receive notification of one of the following:

Rejected:

The regulatory body will send you a notice that your application has been rejected if it is not complete or acceptable to the director.

(Public Lands Administration Regulation: Sections 9(5)(a); 9(6); 9(7) (Formal Disposition); 11(4)(a); 11(5); 11(6) (Authorization); and 13(4)(a); 13(5); and 13(6) (Approval)
Deemed rejected:

If an applicant is not sent a notice of acceptance or rejection within 30 days of submitting an application is deemed rejected.

(Public Lands Administration Regulation: Section 15(1))
Accepted:

The director has registered a notice of acceptance, the application is considered accepted for review.

(Public Lands Administration Regulation: Sections 9(5)(b) and 9(6)) (Formal Disposition); Section 11(4)(b); and 11(5) (Authorization) and Sections 13(4)(b); and 13(5) and (Approval)
Refused:

If the decision is to refuse the application request and refuse to issue a disposition, notice of this must be registered.

(Public Lands Administration Regulation: Sections 10(4); (Formal Disposition), 12(4) (Authorization) and 13(4) (Approval)).
Issue/Approve:

The application is approved and a disposition is issued.

(Public Lands Administration Regulation; Sections 10 (Formal Disposition), 12 (Authorization) and 14 (Approval))

A formal disposition starts on the date it is issued for a term as defined within the PLAR Formal Disposition Directive.

The formal disposition document is authorized by the regulator and is issued to the applicant and retained in Environment and Protected Areas (the Department) or the Alberta Energy Regulator (AERs) (the Agency) records. The rights of the disposition holder are outlined in the Public Lands Act: Section 39.

Decision to Reject an Application or Refuse to Issue a Disposition

Upon notification, of a decision to reject an application or refuse to issue a disposition (the application is not approved), the applicant can take one of the following steps.

1. Appeal

For Department Applications, appeal the decision if it is appealable under the relevant legislation.

  • Public Lands Act (Section 120 to 121) to the Public Lands Appeal Board
  • Public Lands Administration Regulation (Section 211)

For Agency Applications, see:

2. Submit a New Application

Submit a new application which must meet all the pre-application planning and application planning requirements. If you choose to address any deficiency requirements and re-submit the application you will be required to pay the non-refundable application fee again.

3. Take No Further Action

In addition to the legislation, the Department/Agency provides applicants with the ability to appeal a refusal decision made by the regulator when alternate mitigation strategies cannot be agreed upon between the applicant and the Operational Approvals District office. In cases where the Mitigation Supplement is not accepted by the regulatory body, applicants can make a formal appeal to the Alberta Public Lands Appeal Board for Department applications or to the AER - Appeals for Agency applications.

Disposition Fees

Once the applicant is issued a formal disposition, the fees associated with the disposition are assessed (Public Lands Act: Sections 9.1(1) and 10). The formal disposition provides a start date for disposition fees and land rent. Fees and rent are payable to the Government of Alberta within thirty (30) days of receipt of invoice. Information on fees are provided in the Public Lands Rents and other Amounts Payable Order (Ministerial Order 28/2015). To view the order, see:

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