As part of the Environmental Agreements Bylaw (11M2010), any third party who needs to use and occupy City property for the purpose of investigating or remediating contaminated sites is required to obtain a license - the License of Occupation for Environmental Monitoring and Remediation (LIOC).

Updated Amendment to Bylaw (34M2016)

Below are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions regarding the License of Occupation.

What is covered by the License of Occupation?

Under the Environmental Agreements Bylaw, a License must be obtained by a third party when they:

  • Drill boreholes for soil sampling purposes, only on City land (no monitoring well installed).
  • Excavate on City land for the purpose of removing, treating or sampling contaminated soil or groundwater.​
  • Gain access to City-owned monitoring wells (on City land) for the purposes of groundwater sampling and analyses.
  • Inject chemicals for remediation purposes on City land.​
  • Install environmental monitoring wells on City land.
  • Install buried infrastructure across City land.
  • Locate a remediation system shed on City land.

Some exceptions that do not require a License of Occupation:

  • Geo-technical monitoring wells.
  • Any excavation on City land that is not environmentally-related.

Indemnification agreements - An indemnification agreement is still required where a road or lane right-of-way will be affected and a License is not required. This applies for both of the above cases (geo-technical or excavation) where a road right-of-way is affected. To obtain a Roads Indemnification Agreement please contact Simon.Chan@calgary.ca

How do I obtain a License?

To apply for a License of Occupation, download and print the License of Occupation application form and deliver it (via mail, courier or e-mail) to the City of Calgary License of Occupation Coordinator with the required documents as listed on the application form.

​​​​​​​​​Download License of
​Occupation Application
​​​​​​​

Mailing address

License of Occupation Coordinator
Mail Code #111
P.O. Box 2100, Station M
Calgary, AB, T2P 2M5

If by courier:

License of Occupation Coordinator
Mail Code #111
825 – 3 Street SE
Calgary, AB, T2G 5E6

Please note: If work will be in a right-of-way, you will also require review by Utility Line Assignments (Block Profiles) and an Utility Alignment Permit.  Submission for this permit must be submitted to the CROWM online application.

Once the License of Occupation and Utility Alignment Permit are issued, you can then apply for the required Roads Excavation Permit and Street Use Permit via ePermits.

Security

As part of the License application, a letter of credit or money order/bank draft will be required in an amount sufficient to cover the costs for removal of any infrastructure left in place after the License has expired. The cost will be $1,500 per monitoring well. For remediation systems, the cost will be determined by the scope of the project. This security will be returned to the issuer when the infrastructure is decommissioned properly and in a timely manner as per the conditions of the License.

Please note that letters of credit must now be provided electronically via SWIFT (view instructions).

Security exceptions

Security is not required for boreholes (soil sampling only), remedial excavations or chemical injections unless infrastructure is left behind.

For more information, see the License of Occupation - Letter of credit checklist.

How much does the License cost?

The application fee is $150 per License. The annual renewal fee is $150 per License. The amendment fee for an existing active License is $100.

Please note: The amount for the entire term will be collected on application. For example, a License with a ten-year term will be $1,500 upon application. Payment can be made by cheque, cash or via ePay. More information can be found on the ePay Fact Sheet.

Applicants will now be able to specify the term of Licenses from a minimum of one year up to a maximum of ten years for monitoring wells or remediation systems. This does not include the following license types:

  • Boreholes for soil sampling
  • Chemical injection wells
  • Excavations
  • Access to existing City monitoring wells

Terms of the above types of work are expected to be less than a year and will be based on the project. The cost for processing is $150 per License.

What are the types of Environmental Agreements?

Access agreements

An agreement between The City and a third party to allow The City access to third party property to conduct environmental investigations or remediation.

Administrative agreements

An agreement that authorizes The City and another government body to transfer the administration of environmental legislation.

Conservation agreements

An agreement that authorizes The City and a third party to conserve and protect land (such as under the Alberta Land Stewardship Act).

Remedial action agreements

An agreement that specifies the responsibility between The City and a third party when decommissioning or implementing a remedial action plan or a risk management plan.

Stewardship agreements

An agreement that facilitates consultation, research or piloting of an environmentally-related project between The City and a third party.​​​​

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