Lethbridge, for example, has at least six operating gas wells and 25 wells in total within city limits. Called s.618 by those in the know, the exemption clause allows oil and gas development to proceed on any land-urban or rural, public or private-without regard for the municipality’s future land-use plans. That would be fine except for a specific section in the 20-year-old MGA that exempts oil and gas developments-wells, batteries and pipelines-from local land use regulations.
There’s only one Municipal Government Act (MGA), and it applies equally to both the city and the country. When it comes to oil and gas development in Alberta, nothing distinguishes urban municipalities (cities, towns, villages) from rural municipalities (municipal districts, counties, hamlets). Unless they’ve had a close brush with this urban side of the industry, most people would probably assume that drilling in cities is prohibited. It’s finally time to develop a better set of rules on drilling in our province’s cities. Clarity won’t be easily achieved, but one thing’s for sure: the status quo, defined by uncertainty and conflict, is increasingly unworkable. Rural Albertans will also have a stake in any discussions because less drilling in urban areas could mean more in rural areas. What’s needed in this new Alberta is clarity, both for those living in the suburbs and for the industry executives who want predictability. No longer can oil and gas companies expect quiet acquiescence from the people of Alberta. A recent public opinion poll by the Canada West Foundation reveals that a majority of Albertans mistrust the energy industry. Our thinking on oil and gas development has changed. But if the recent resistance in Lethbridge can be taken as an indication, urban Albertans, who now make up 83 per cent of the province’s population, are ready to defend their neighbourhoods.
Drayton Valley, Balzac, Cochrane and the Royal Oak and Rocky Ridge neighbourhoods in Calgary, among others, have all had their run-ins with the oil and gas industry. Lethbridge is only the latest high-profile example. “Goldenkey’s plans have been abandoned,” he wrote in a public statement, “but the issue of urban drilling has not gone away.” There are other oil and gas companies, all of them with the primary concern of return on investment. When Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman learned on May 1, 2014, that Goldenkey was pulling out of town, he was delighted but nevertheless cautious. The executives at Goldenkey decided to cut their losses, writing off the hundreds of thousands of dollars they’d put up to lease the mineral rights and hold public consultations. Even representatives from the business community were opposed, including the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce and the Lethbridge and District Association of Realtors. Not only did the mayor and council, both of the school boards and most of the city’s residents oppose the wells, but so did the MLAs for Lethbridge-East and Lethbridge-West. Goldenkey shelved their plans after widespread community opposition. Two of the wells would have been only a few hundred metres from homes. sought approval to drill three exploratory wells on future residential land inside Lethbridge city limits. That’s a threat my neighbours and I narrowly avoided early in 2014 when Calgary-based Goldenkey Oil Inc. If things don’t go as planned, my view might instead be blocked by drilling rigs, flare stacks and petroleum tanks.
Give it another year, two at the most, and my view will be blocked by a new row of houses complete with backyard barbecues. Every month the developer pushes closer with newly paved roads and attractive homes with front-attached garages. I cherish the view, but I know it won’t last. The scene is classic southwestern Alberta: big sky, open prairie, mountain horizon. When I stand on the rear deck of my two-year-old home on the outer edge of Copperwood, one of west Lethbridge’s fastest-growing suburbs, my attention is drawn west.
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