Natural gas well owners deserve fair treatment

Government works for people – not the other way around. That’s the way democracy is supposed to work in Ontario.

Ten years ago the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) introduced natural gas well regulations that people felt were onerous and over-concerned with  “unimportant details”.

At that time, I attended a large meeting in Kohler, worked with my fellow MPPs, and eventually had the government of the day back down on enforcement.

Over the years, I have worked with many provincial civil servants who work hard and who have the best interest of taxpayers at heart. However, recently at a Haldimand Federation of Agriculture meeting I learned of hardworking farmers and land owners who feel they are being harassed by staff of the MNR Petroleum Resource Centre.

The meeting brought together Haldimand County councillors, MPP Tim Hudak and private gas well owners from Haldimand, Norfolk and Niagara. As a result of this meeting the Gas Well Coalition was formed to represent the interest of private gas well owners in defence of what they feel is heavy-handed policies and treatment.

It was brought to my attention that MNR employees can allegedly enter property at any given time – even without notice. I heard stories from folks who have been concerned to find strangers walking their property without first asking permission.

Southern Ontario has had a localized gas well industry since the 1840s providing an efficient form of heat and energy. By the middle of the last century, the commercial value of the Haldimand gas field was nearly depleted and the remaining producing gas wells were of low volume and pressure and generally privately-owned.

New regulations have been put in place, but operators feel they have not been advised of these changes. According to a newsletter issued by the Ontario Oil and Natural Gas Industry, they too have been taking many calls over the past year regarding private wells – they specifically cite the Niagara Region west into Norfolk.

MNR seems to be painting private gas wells with the same brush as commercial wells. Farmers and land owners would like to see privately used gas wells exempt from the current standards and be grandfathered to meet the requirements of when they were drilled.

Further, MNR has been ordering many of these gas wells plugged because of more restrictive requirements; however, such orders come with quite a price tag – plugging a well can run a land owner up to tens of thousands of dollars. It is proposed, owners be compensated for the value of the well and the associated costs of converting to alternative energy sources.

At the Haldimand federation meeting, farmers conveyed their frustrations in finding answers to these new requirements and feel that MNR staff should be more approachable and less confrontational. Also, in all fairness, land owners and farmers must not have unrealistic expectations and must do their utmost to meet the guidelines.

MPP Hudak and I have drafted a petition on this matter and I have written to the Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsay, asking him to investigate and to revisit the new regulations.

Let’s hope the government of today will do the necessary consultation on this matter.

Farmers and land owners don’t want preferential treatment – they want fair treatment.