Technical guidelines provide clarification and direction on practical and technical aspects of implementing the Agricultural Operation Practices Act and its regulations. The guidelines are developed and issued by the Technical Advisory Group. Further technical guidelines will be made available on this website when issued.

• Agdex 096-100: Technical Guideline Listing
• Agdex 096-50: Reclamation of Groundwater Monitoring Wells 
• Agdex 096-50: Supplement - Monitoring Well Reclamation Worksheet 
• Agdex 096-51: Monitoring Well Construction, Installation and Development
• Agdex 096-52: Leak Detection Groundwater Monitoring Parameters
• Agdex 096-53: Leak Detection Groundwater Sampling 
• Agdex 096-61: Determining Equivalent Protective Layers and Constructed Liners
• Agdex 096-62: Subsoil Investigations for Manure Storage Facilities and Manure Collection Areas
• Agdex 096-63: Subsoil Investigations for Naturally Occurring Protective Layers
• Agdex 096-64: Subsoil Investigations for Compacted Soil Liners
• Agdex 096-70: Frozen and Snow-covered Land
• Agdex 096-81: Calculator for Determining Livestock Capacity of Operations as They Existed on January 1, 2002 
• Agdex 096-90: Closure of Manure Storage Facilities and Manure Collection Areas 
• Agdex 096-90: Supplement - Manure Storage Facilities and Manure Collection Area Worksheet 
• Agdex 096-91: Temporary Suspension of Manure Storage Facilities 
• Agdex 096-93: Non-Engineered Concrete Liners for Manure Collection and Storage Areas 
• Agdex 096-94: Identifying Manure Storage Facilities and Manure Collection Areas at Confined Feeding Operations

The Environmental Risk Screening Tool for Manure Facilities at Confined Feeding Operations was developed to assist NRCB staff in making consistent and transparent decisions that were based on environmental risk. The NRCB has always assessed risk as part of its review of applications and its complaint response as required under AOPA. The tool does not replace the legislated requirements of AOPA. The tool is being used to determine environmental risk when applications are considered, when responding to complaints and in other instances, where risk needs to be determined. 

• Environmental Risk Screening Tool for Manure Facilities at Confined Feeding Operations - Version 1.2
• Response to the Environmental Risk Screening Tool Risk Level - Flowcharts
• Archived Version 1.1

The water well exemption screening tool was developed to help approval officers determine whether to exempt the AOPA requirement that water wells must be located at least 100 metres away from a manure storage facility.

• Water Well Exemption Screening Tool
• Water Well Exemption Screening Tool Companion Document
• Water Well Impact Assessment Checklist

Following are helpful links to government websites, agencies and regulatory authorities relevant to Alberta's confined feeding operations. 

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
• Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation
• Alberta Environment and Protected Areas
• Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company
• Alberta Health Services
• Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors
• Alberta's Land-use Framework
• Clean Air Strategic Alliance
• Code of Practice for Watercourse Crossings
• Environmental Appeals Board
• Environmental Law Centre
• Water for Life   
• Water Act Information Links and AGI Funding List
• Groundwater requirements calculations from EPA

Flood Risk

The following information is available from Environment and Parks:
Flood Hazard Mapping
Benchmark Retrieval System

Groundwater

The following information is available from Environment and Parks:
Groundwater Information System

• Minimum Distance Calculator
• Change in AOPA Livestock Type Calculator
• Environmental Risk Screening Tool
• Water Well Exemption Tool
• Catch Basin Calculator
• Earthen Manure Storage Calculator
• Other Agriculture & Forestry Tools