Answers wanted

Time Contributor

 

Farmers have a connection with their land. The soil texture in their hand, the feel of the ground under their feet, the sight of the new shoots rising and the smell of the crop ripening is how the land communicates to them. To farmers the land is a living thing. When they give time and attention, God willing, the land gives back a livelihood. 

When a four-foot berm, 60 feet long, rose up on the corner of Ken Wise’s property near Rockyford and started oozing grey sludge water, he listened.

“Something has happened to our soil and land over the last three years,” said Wise. “Water has never been there. In spring it runs to the pond and into the coulee. By July it dries up.”

Now the water collects, doesn’t disappear, and recently developed gas like surface bubbles.

He thought maybe oil well drilling or the test hydraulic fracturing that was conducted near their property might have altered something below ground.

Over the next six years, he and his family contacted a qualified hydrologist to test the water, contacted Environmental Resource Conservation Board reps, and oil and gas companies involved in the area. All the testing results did not conclusively describe what was going on. It was inconclusive but suggested a naturally occurring process. 

Their complete story can be viewed at www.915111albertaltd.com   

The Wise family is frustrated with getting no reasonable answers. They have become suspicious of vague answers and refusals to release water test results. They are discouraged by the way their concerns are being disregarded. 

A recent incident of gas plant water effluent being sprayed on the road near their property just increased the frustration. They took water samples and requested Wheatland County take samples as well, to make sure there are no health risks. 

They appeared in Wheatland County Council on Sept. 18 to find out why results were not available to them and plead for County Councilors to take steps to curtail the indiscriminate disregard that some companies have for the farmers, their families and the land.

In June, the Wise family received a letter stating there would be coal bed methane well developed on their property. According to resource legislation, a water well test would be done. 

The Wise family is not alone in their concerns. Recently, several other farmers in the area have had land disturbances surface. 

Alberta has 100,000 abandoned wells and 20,000 are over 10 years old. The Alberta Government has not allocated enough inspectors to keep up with the reclamation orders and fines. 

There have been documented links with fracturing causing earthquake activity in England and B.C. and the Wise family claims to have felt some tremor like vibrations in their home.

With both provincial and federal governments siding with oil development to increase employment opportunities and provincial revenues, landowner’s sometimes feel their concerns are disregarded.

The issue of farmers being able to say no to oil, gas and mineral development on their land was one of the arguments that split the Alberta province vote between urban and rural and Progressive Conservative and Wildrose Party. 

The Property Rights Task Force Paper was to address those landowner concerns.  In collected data farmers clearly outlined they wanted the right to say no to development on their property. www.alberta.ca/PropertyRights/assets  

The government response to that report clearly spelled out that the government values prosperity. No direct action will be taken to keep that prosperity from being developed on an individual property. 

‘Albertans expect their government to create grounds for prosperity and balance the impacts on individuals. Albertans also made it clear that government had to protect core values when making decisions in the public interest. We are indebted to the Albertans who made the effort to contribute to this review of land and property rights and help us establish the path forward. We appreciate the thoughtful, heartfelt and thorough feedback.’ –Government Response to Property Rights Task Force

County of Wheatland councilors respectfully listened to the Wise family petition and asked that any water analysis results taken by the County be released to the family. They expressed concern for the problems the family had encountered. They took the family’s petition for consideration.

There is no legislation municipally, provincially or federally on restricting mineral developments on private land. Under existing government guidelines farmers have the right to take issues to court, at their own expense.