A partnership with the feds will see the government of Alberta join local Indigenous communities, with the hope of creating shovel-ready jobs for the ailing oil and gas sector..Two new rounds of the Site Rehabilitation Program will provide $400 million to contribute to environmental cleanup across the province, including First Nations reserves and Metis Settlements..It will provide $100 million of federal SRP grant funding to clean up inactive oil and gas sites in Indigenous communities across Alberta..“This $100-million collaboration between First Nations represented by the Indian Resource Council, the Metis Settlements and the Government of Alberta shows unprecedented progress towards reconcili-action in the protection of land, lives and livelihoods,” said Chief William Morin, of Enoch Cree Nation..As of February 12, $310.3 million of grant funding has been allocated to 633 Alberta-based companies for periods 1 through 4 of the program..Applications for grant periods 5 and 6 will remain open until March 31, 2022. Period 6 will provide Indigenous communities with a community-specific allocation..“As stewards of the land, this funding will ensure that Indigenous people benefit from resource development on land that was first inhabited by their ancestors,” said Energy Minister Sonya Savage..“The Site Rehabilitation Program is cleaning up legacy oil and gas sites across the province and creating thousands of much-needed jobs.”.Including these two rounds, which will open to applications on February 12, $800 million in SRP grants have been made available to eligible applicants since launching in May 2020. In total, the program is hoped to generate almost 5,300 direct jobs and lead to indirect employment across the province..Through SRP, launched in May 2020, the Alberta government is directing up to $1 billion of federal oil and gas COVID-19 economic stimulus over two years to get Albertans back to work by speeding up well, pipeline and site closure efforts in the energy sector..“The SRP Indigenous set aside will allow Alberta First Nations and Metis Settlements to reduce liabilities by decommissioning and cleaning up well sites across Alberta,” said Chief Greg Desjarlais of Frog Lake First Nations #121 and #122. .The SRP will provide up to an additional $300 million to oil and gas producers who paid for closure work in 2019 or 2020. This is designed to give contractors and licensees the funding and time to work on closure projects of all scopes and sizes..The remaining grant periods for the $1-billion funding commitment will be announced in the coming months. Contractors have until December 31, 2022, to complete their work through the program..Dhaliwal is the Western’s Standard’s Edmonton reporter.
A partnership with the feds will see the government of Alberta join local Indigenous communities, with the hope of creating shovel-ready jobs for the ailing oil and gas sector..Two new rounds of the Site Rehabilitation Program will provide $400 million to contribute to environmental cleanup across the province, including First Nations reserves and Metis Settlements..It will provide $100 million of federal SRP grant funding to clean up inactive oil and gas sites in Indigenous communities across Alberta..“This $100-million collaboration between First Nations represented by the Indian Resource Council, the Metis Settlements and the Government of Alberta shows unprecedented progress towards reconcili-action in the protection of land, lives and livelihoods,” said Chief William Morin, of Enoch Cree Nation..As of February 12, $310.3 million of grant funding has been allocated to 633 Alberta-based companies for periods 1 through 4 of the program..Applications for grant periods 5 and 6 will remain open until March 31, 2022. Period 6 will provide Indigenous communities with a community-specific allocation..“As stewards of the land, this funding will ensure that Indigenous people benefit from resource development on land that was first inhabited by their ancestors,” said Energy Minister Sonya Savage..“The Site Rehabilitation Program is cleaning up legacy oil and gas sites across the province and creating thousands of much-needed jobs.”.Including these two rounds, which will open to applications on February 12, $800 million in SRP grants have been made available to eligible applicants since launching in May 2020. In total, the program is hoped to generate almost 5,300 direct jobs and lead to indirect employment across the province..Through SRP, launched in May 2020, the Alberta government is directing up to $1 billion of federal oil and gas COVID-19 economic stimulus over two years to get Albertans back to work by speeding up well, pipeline and site closure efforts in the energy sector..“The SRP Indigenous set aside will allow Alberta First Nations and Metis Settlements to reduce liabilities by decommissioning and cleaning up well sites across Alberta,” said Chief Greg Desjarlais of Frog Lake First Nations #121 and #122. .The SRP will provide up to an additional $300 million to oil and gas producers who paid for closure work in 2019 or 2020. This is designed to give contractors and licensees the funding and time to work on closure projects of all scopes and sizes..The remaining grant periods for the $1-billion funding commitment will be announced in the coming months. Contractors have until December 31, 2022, to complete their work through the program..Dhaliwal is the Western’s Standard’s Edmonton reporter.
