With a very busy winter field season coming to a grinding halt, North Shore would like to thank all of its employees, contractors, and clients for their collaboration and dedication to successfully execute the mountain of projects being completed under the Alberta Site Rehabilitation Program (ASRP – Alberta), Accelerated Site Closure Program (ASCP – Saskatchewan), and Dormant Sites Reclamation Program (DSRP – British Columbia) over the last 4 to 5 months. We feel very fortunate to have such great relationships with all stakeholders and without them we would not have been as successful as we were.
Because there’s no rest for the wicked, our focus over the last few weeks has been on ensuring our clients have maximized their ASRP Period 3 funding allocations with numerous final applications being submitted prior to the deadline (March 31st, 2021). With only roughly half of the $100 Million in grant funding available for Period 3 being approved and allocated to licensees so far, it would appear that many eligible licensees are either unaware that they are eligible for up to $139,000 in funding or are simply choosing not to participate in the program. We are certainly curious to see what the final funding tally is once the Period 3 application period is closed and to discover how Alberta Energy will utilize any remaining Period 3 funds for future funding period initiatives.
Fortunately, the application deadline for ASRP Period 4 funding applications has been extended to September 30, 2021. This came much to the relief of some eligible licensees with significant Period 4 allocations since up until just recently, approximately only 75% of the $100 Million allocated for this funding period had been applied for and approved with the original deadline (March 31, 2021) looming near. The extension will hopefully allow for many licensees to adequately plan out their remaining Period 4 applications. North Shore has been working very closely with our clients to ensure our Period 4 applications maximize their funding and focus on workload efficiency, with a goal of obtaining closure for many of their sites prior to the end of the program (December 31, 2022).
Periods 5 and 6 under ASRP were open for applications on February 12th, 2021. With $400 Million in total funding available ($300MM for Period 5 and $100MM for Period 6), eligible licensees have until March 31st, 2022, to submit grant funding applications for site closure work. So far, the number of applications received by Alberta Energy for these periods has been minimal. However, we believe once licensees have fully exhausted their allocations in previous periods and have had time to carefully plan out their Period 5 and 6 allocations, these application numbers will pick up substantially over the next few months. Many licensees have been busy collaborating with both First Nations and Metis Settlement communities to utilize and allocate available Period 6 funds, which in turn allows them the opportunity to access their Period 5 allocations.
North Shore has been actively working with both eligible licensees and eligible indigenous businesses, along with First Nation and Metis communities throughout Alberta, to plan out and execute required surface closure work under Periods 5 and 6. There is a significant amount of funding available under these two periods for many eligible licensees and North Shore continues to advocate to its clients that the key to efficient spending during site closure activities is through upfront planning and communication.
North Shore looks forward to continuing to participate in the various site closure funding programs across western Canada with its clients, contractors, and working partners. We deeply value these relationships and are proud to be an integral part of the numerous Assessment, Decommissioning, Remediation, and Reclamation activities being initiated and completed across all three provinces in which we operate. Again, North Shore would like to thank all the licensees, service providers, and other key stakeholders for participating in these programs and continuing to work and engage with us throughout the process. We wish everyone a safe (and hopefully not too muddy) spring as we look forward to a very busy and successful summer field season.
For additional information on how to work with North Shore as part of the ASRP program and/or other site closure funding programs, please contact us either by phone or the email below.
