NORFOLK COUNTY, Ont. — Ontario will dole out $2 million to nine municipalities in southwestern Ontario this year in an effort to prevent abandoned oil and gas wells from exploding.
Natural Resources Minister Graydon Smith says the money will be used by municipalities to buy equipment and provide health and safety training to better understand the risks of old wells and to help plug them.
The funding will also be used to educate residents about the dangers posed by abandoned wells, many of which date to the late 1800s.
In 2021, a gas leak from an old well levelled two buildings and injured 20 people in Wheatley, Ont.
The explosion came weeks after local officials declared two states of emergency and evacuation orders after discovering hydrogen sulphide gas leaks in the area.
The province plans to provide $7.5 million to municipalities over the next three years as part of its $23.6 million action plan for the roughly 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells in Ontario.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2024.
