The County of Essex hosted a press conference Tuesday afternoon outside the Administration Building, where Ontario Minister of Natural Resources Mike Harris announced funding to protect communities like ours from the dangers of legacy oil and gas wells.

“Our government is taking action to deal with old oil and gas wells before they become a problem,” said Harris in a release. “This investment will provide landowners and local leaders with the tools they need to protect their communities, support local jobs and give families greater peace of mind.”

County of Essex CAO Sandra Zwiers met with Harris recently at a Legacy Oil and Gas Symposium in London organized by Essex-Windsor EMS. She praised the government for its continued support of this public safety initiative and said the County was “honoured” to serve as the regional coordinator.

“Our role has been to bring partners together, administer the funding, support collaboration, and help ensure the program delivers meaningful benefits across the region,” she said. “Through the leadership of Essex-Windsor EMS and the participation of municipal partners from Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville, Lakeshore, LaSalle, Leamington, Tecumseh, Pelee Island and the City of Windsor, we established a regional working group that has met regularly throughout this project.

That group has worked collaboratively on risk assessment, emergency planning, responder training, public education initiatives and equipment acquisition. The result is a coordinated regional approach that strengthens preparedness across municipal boundaries.”

Warden Hilda MacDonald thanked the province for its ongoing support of Essex County and said the dangers posed by legacy oil and gas wells underscore the need to work together for the collective good of the region.

“This initiative demonstrates the value of regional collaboration. No single municipality can tackle these challenges alone, but together we can build stronger response capabilities, share expertise and ensure our communities are prepared for the future,” said MacDonald. “The safety of our residents, first responders and communities is always our highest priority.”

The County of Essex has received more than $1.2 million over three years under the Municipal Legacy Wells Transfer Payment Program “to purchase communication, decontamination and gas detection equipment, conduct health, safety and emergency management training for staff, develop public awareness and education materials and update emergency response plans,” said the province in a news release.

Read the provincial news release!