Alberta asks feds reallocate cleanup funds to Indigenous communities

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Alberta is asking the federal authorities to permit it to maintain $137 million in funding it failed to make use of for oil and fuel nicely cleanup for a similar actions on Indigenous land.

The request to allocate the funding to website cleanup on Indigenous lands has obtained backing from chiefs from Treaty 6, 7 and eight territories, and the Indian Useful resource Council.

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On the coronary heart of Alberta’s request is funding created by the federal authorities early within the COVID-19 pandemic that was structured to save lots of jobs and jump-start efforts to cut back the variety of deserted wells in Alberta.

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In late April 2020, the federal authorities introduced a wide-scale financial response plan that included its Website Rehabilitation Program (SRP) — a $1-billion fund to chip away at Alberta’s backlog of deserted oil and fuel wells. The funding got here as hundreds of oilfield staff had been unemployed throughout the peak of COVID-19, leading to greater than 4,000 jobs being created.

With that program coming to an in depth, $137 million of that $1 billion in grant funding stays unused. The federal authorities is requesting or not it’s returned to Ottawa, in keeping with the Alberta authorities, which at the moment holds the cash.

Cleansing up an deserted nicely can value between $100,000 to a number of million {dollars}, in keeping with the federal authorities.

‘They’ve already allotted this on the books’: Jean

“Although the cash has lapsed, it’s simply merely a time within the calendar,” mentioned Alberta Vitality Minister Brian Jean. He didn’t say why the funding hasn’t been totally spent.

“They’ve already allotted this on the books. Simply allow us to hold it, handle it and clear this up.”

The federal authorities didn’t instantly reply to Postmedia’s request for remark. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland was anticipated to handle the request at a Monday night information convention.

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“It is a legal responsibility of the lessees, and the Alberta authorities is holding them accountable by the Effectively Closure Program. Nonetheless, time is just not on our aspect,” mentioned Chief Cody Thomas of the Enoch Cree Nation.

The SRP has resulted in 1,824 inactive nicely websites being closed amid the Indigenous group grant program, which put aside $133.3 million to scrub up inactive wells in Indigenous communities.

‘That is basically now an trade subsidy’: lawyer

Martin Olszynski, a College of Calgary useful resource lawyer and frequent critic of the province’s remediation insurance policies, mentioned the federal program “wasn’t meant to subsidize nicely cleanup” regardless of it not directly having that impact.

“The first rationale was about sustaining jobs within the context of broader COVID reduction,” Olszynski mentioned. As oil and fuel firms have rebounded sharply from low commodity costs, each previous and throughout the pandemic, some have in recent times posted all-time report income.

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In that context, the SRP’s meant use has come and gone, Olszynski mentioned.

“That is basically now an trade subsidy. What we’re speaking about right here is subsidizing nicely cleanup that ought to have been completed and must be the accountability of the operators of these wells,” he mentioned. The funding does current financial alternatives for Indigenous communities, he mentioned, however questioned why oil and fuel firms aren’t being required to scrub up these wells.

Inside paperwork obtained in January by College of Calgary researcher Drew Yewchuk advised Alberta’s vitality regulator believes the overall value of nicely cleanup in Alberta to be about $88 billion — considerably greater than the $33 billion it publicly estimated earlier this yr.

mscace@postmedia.com
X: @mattscace67

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