Ontario invests $23.6M into province-wide strategy addressing abandoned oil and gas wells
Chatham-Kent is getting $2.5 million from the province as part of a $23.6 million investment to address risks posed by abandoned oil and gas wells.
The Ontario government announced the funding Friday to develop a province-wide strategy that includes identifying and plugging old oil and gas wells. Chatham’s funding is to help assist with emergency management costs from the 2021 explosion in downtown Wheatley.
“We are continuing to listen to our residents and local leaders to ensure our government’s plan addresses the needs of communities across Ontario, including Chatham-Kent,” Trevor Jones, MPP for Chatham-Kent-Leamington, said in a news release. “This funding will help municipalities address the risks posed by old oil and gas wells and help keep communities safe.”
To date, the province has invested $25 million to support the investigation, recovery and monitoring activities in Chatham-Kent as well as support businesses and residents evacuated.
According to the province, the $23.6 million will be used to develop an “oil and has action plan” to address the risks of old wells and conduct research to better understand the risks they pose.
The funding includes:
- $7.5 million over three years to directly support municipalities in their efforts to reduce risks and enhance emergency preparedness within their communities. Eligible municipalities will be invited to apply for funding for these activities in the coming weeks.
- Doubling of the existing Abandoned Works Program over three years to $6 million to support the plugging of old oil and gas wells.
- $2.5 million will go directly to the Municipality of Chatham-Kent to help with ongoing emergency management costs associated with the Wheatley explosion.
“This investment represents the first step in our government’s action plan to address the challenges and risks old oil and gas wells pose to communities across Ontario,” Graydon Smith, minister of natural resources and forestry, said in a news release. “With this funding, Chatham-Kent and other affected municipalities will be able to help keep their communities safe and prevent petroleum-related emergencies in the future.”
The province says the action plan will be guided by ongoing engagement and feedback from industry, municipalities, Indigenous partners, other key stakeholders, and the public.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'