Essex County and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent have each received $280,000 for 2024 from the provincial government to better manage the hazards posed by old and inactive oil and gas wells.
The funding is part of a $2.5 million investment this year to help nine municipalities across southwestern Ontario enhance emergency preparedness.
In 2023, the province provided the nine municipalities with close to $2 million to purchase emergency response equipment, enhance municipal staff health and safety training and increase public education and awareness.
Essex County used last year's funding to purchase equipment for local municipal Emergency Operations Centres, deliver health and safety training for staff and develop a public awareness and education campaign.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent says it used last year's funding to conduct air monitoring and gas analysis in Wheatley and purchase 1,000 gas monitors to distribute to residents for home indoor air monitoring.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift, Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry says the Wheatley explosion in 2021 was the catalyst for the province to take bold action.
"I made a promise to the mayor and to the fire chief, and really to the people of Wheatley when I became minister that what happened in their community wouldn't just be an event that came and went. It would be something that we learned from and that we took action to ensure did not happen again in communities in Ontario, because we want people to feel safe in their communities."
Smith says he made a commitment as minister to have a conversation with each municipality to learn how to the province can specifically assist.
"They have different ideas as to what they may want to do in Lambton County versus Essex versus Norfolk for example in terms of community preparedness and we're providing some money to help have those plans come to fruition."
He says the municipalities responded well to year one of the program.
"Actually in year two and in year three we've got money set aside for collaborative projects, so if municipalities wanted to work together on something specific we would certainly take a look at funding that."
This year's funding is part of a three-year, $7.5 million investment to help communities enhance emergency preparedness and is the next step in the government's $23.6 million action plan to help protect communities from petroleum-related emergencies.
Ontario has records for approximately 27,000 oil and gas wells, primarily on private land in southwestern Ontario.
-With files from AM800's Meagan Delaurier
