Wendy Anderson’s voice shook as she read out a list of her family’s and neighbors’ health problems to the TV cameras and reporters in a downtown Winnipeg boardroom.
Afterwards, she and husband Jim confided they would rather be at home on their farm near Tilston, Man., than facing the glare of the public spotlight.
“It’s not our way at all,” said Jim.
But for several years, their home has not been the place it once was.
They have tried talking to officials from the provincial government and Tundra Oil and Gas about the head-aches, nausea, breathing problems and dizziness they believe are caused by a nearby oil battery.
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There have been studies and meetings and monitoring sites, but no one is taking responsibility for the problems, said Wendy.
“They tell us the air is fine and the oil battery is not to blame,” she said.
The Andersons and about 60 other families in southwestern Manitoba believe otherwise.
They think years of exposure to toxic gases have left them more sensitive to even low levels of exposure.
This spring, they formed GASPE Ð Group Advocating Safe Petroleum Emissions Ð and demanded more action.
They want the government’s arms-length Clean Environment Commission to hold hearings about the battery. They believe the battery and others like it should be licensed under the Environment Act.
GASPE is working with Arne Peltz and Michael Conner, lawyers with the Public Interest Law Centre.
It’s a branch of legal aid where clients contribute what they can. “We’re not rich folks,” noted Bill Anderson.
Peltz said the group will file court documents in a couple of weeks unless the government agrees to hold hearings.
Local support
The Andersons said they feel fortunate the community has rallied behind the farm families.
Well-known reeve Manson Moir attended their news conference to voice his support.
“These are my neighbors, they have always been my neighbors, and people I’ve always had a lot of respect for,” said Moir.
He said the families are scared and deserve answers.
The environmental regulations applied to the petroleum industry in Manitoba are vague, he said.
The government should apply the same standard of care to the oil and gas industry as it has recently to hog barn expansion, he added.
Residents first started complaining about the battery near Tilston after it began using a different kind of drilling process in 1993 to increase production. After complaints, the company began incinerating gases rather than venting them into the air.
The company has participated in a community advisory group, along with government and residents.
It also hired a third-party consultant to inspect the battery. The consultant found no problems.
The provincial government has monitored air quality on farms on several occasions and has found no evidence that linked emissions with health problems.
Manitoba Health is reviewing a report by a doctor who met with residents.
