FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 11, 2019
SIMCOE – The Ontario government will be providing Norfolk County with up to $500,000 to better understand leaking wells in the county and support ongoing research.
The funding, through the ministry’s Abandoned Works Program, will support collaboration for continued research to better identify when and where plugging and abandonment of gas wells is the best response and when other methods may be more appropriate.
“Our priority is the safety of the public and the protection of communities and property,” said Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett. “Ministry officials have been working with the county to find a solution to the Forestry Farm Road well, in addition to other wells, and this will continue with the new funding.”
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, together with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines (ENDM), has been conducting research to better understand why, where and how these incidents occur across all Southwestern Ontario. The results of these studies will be shared with municipalities, including Norfolk County, to provide them with science/evidence-based information to assist them.
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For more information, contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or toby.barrett@pc.ola.org