SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. — Farmers who take disputes to the Saskatchewan Surface Rights Arbitration Board should be better prepared, says the board chair.
Duane Smith said farmers are at a disadvantage when arguing their cases in front of the board because energy companies have more resources available to them.
“A lot of people say we favour the operator,” he said. “Operators often have better evidence.”
The board conducts hearings for right of entry, damage claims, compensation, reclamation and rental reviews.
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It is a board of last resort when landowners or occupants can’t reach agreement with oil, gas or potash companies.
The board includes farmers and industry representatives. Smith, who by day is chief executive officer of JayDee Ag Tech in Swift Current, has been chair for two years.
He said right of entry is not usually a problem for landowners, although proximity to a residence, noise and fear of water contamination can cause concern.
The board had never held up right of entry until a recent case in the Weyburn area where a landowner ran a herd of sheep and cattle and had installed an extensive dugout and water pipeline system.
Damageclaim hearings focus on cases where animals escape through
gates that are left open or weeds are introduced by contaminated equipment or clothing.
However, Smith said few of these complaints are filed anymore because the 1968 legislation allows an award of only $1,000.
Energy minister Bill Boyd has said the government intends to open the legislation for modernization, but Smith said he wouldn’t expect that to happen until after the November election.
If the government does update the act, Smith said $10,000 is a better amount to address damage. The board would also need a mechanism to collect that money.
The board mainly deals with compensation for well sites and flow lines. Reclamation and rental reviews come before the board only occasionally.
Smith said compensation is a complex issue because the board must consider land values, the crop that was planted and the loss of use that occurred.
The board takes rising land values and grain prices into account when making its decisions.
Donny Duncan, president of Millennium Land Ltd. and an active negotiator for oil and gas installations, also urged landowners to be prepared.
“(Communication is key ) before it gets to a point where you’re frustrated, you’re mad and you’re locking gates, ” he told a panel discussion of surface rights held during the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association conference.
He agreed that companies haven’t always been respectful and responsible, but more government regulation has brought improvements.
Swift Current rancher Brian Weedon said the provincial government must review policies such as the cap on well lease fees, its decision to put surface lease revenue from the Saskatchewan community pastures into general revenue instead of a pasture fund and the difference in lease rates paid on crown and deeded land.
He said rates paid on crown land are 15 to 30 percent lower.
Smith said a review of the legislation should also improve the process for collecting unpaid compensation.
In the time he has been on the board, it has not dealt with any cases involving pasture land. The board has no jurisdiction over crown leases.
