EDMONTON -- Alberta’s oil well problem is finally being addressed. But the manner in which it’s happening is being questioned. 

On Friday, the Alberta Government announced details of its Site Rehabilitation Program, a $1-billon initiative to clean up Alberta’s estimated 94,000 inactive wells, funded by the federal government.

“We will be moving as quickly as we possibly can to turn that money into jobs in communities all across Canada,” said Premier Jason Kenney, making one of several announcements in Edmonton.

“And particularly, helping to put back to work great oilfields service workers who have been laid off and throwing a critical lifeline to the service sector.”

On May 1, oilfield service companies will be able to apply for grants to clean up some of the thousands of inactive oil wells in Alberta. The government estimates the program will create 5,300 jobs.

The province said between 25 and 100 per cent of project costs would be covered by the grant, depending on the ability of the company responsible to pay for cleanup.

"There's companies out there that have been hit hard over the last five years,” said Energy Minister Sonya Savage.

“They don’t have two pennies to rub together to put any contribution forward to clean up their inactive wells."

DRILLING DOWN THE APPROACH

Critics question why Canadian taxpayers should have to pay for an oil company’s mess.

“It’s positive folks will be put to work doing this critical task we’ve left for ourselves after all these years,” said Regan Boychuk, researcher with Alberta Liabilities Disclosure Project and longtime proponent of well reclamation.

“It’s just unfortunate the way it’s being done and who is going to end up paying for it.”

Instead of a government subsidy, Boychuk believes the Alberta government should’ve used the federal funding as leverage in the form of loans that the companies responsible would then apply for to clean up their own wells.

"The number of jobs and wells to be cleaned up couldve been multiplied 10 fold and it's disappointing to see this lost opportunity,” said Boychuk.

Last year, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against a trustee for bankrupt energy company saying it could not simply walk away from an unprofitable well on agricultural land without having to clean up.

The Redwater Decision set the precedent that financial interests cannot come before environmental responsibilities.

Savage said Friday the government has been working on a Liability Management Package, sweeping changes to existing policy that would cover the entire life cycle of a well , but said the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its deployment.

“Right now the priority is getting some Albertans back to work,” said Savage.

According to the Alberta Government website, an inactive well is defined as having stopped operations due to technical or economic reasons.