Law of the Lands - Farm, Energy and Enviro Law

Nova Scotia board ruling that the owner of the lan...

2012-03-09T13:33:56.392-05:00

Nova Scotia board ruling that the owner of the land was due for compensation is only the first step in what probably might be a long legal battle.I don't expect to see the company take this ruling because there is a financial cost to them accepting the review board's decision.

Great blog. As an environmental lawyer living on a...

2011-10-08T11:36:08.318-04:00

Great blog. As an environmental lawyer living on a farm in Eastern Ontario, I'm very pleased to see you focusing on rural farm, energy and enviro issues.

Expropriation legislation often provides expropria...

2011-09-16T21:49:05.119-04:00

Expropriation legislation often provides expropriating authorities with the right to carry out appraisals and survey work before the expropriation formally occurs. It may be that no trespass has occurred. You also refer to an existing SRW, which may provide access rights for the work that is being carried out. You should consult a lawyer about the situation. As far as the valuation of the property goes, in the absence of useful comparables an appraiser may take a different approach.

I have a SRW on my riverfront property with 2 well...

2011-08-22T11:14:50.990-04:00

I have a SRW on my riverfront property with 2 wells hat serve the community water. They are trying to expropropriate, but are placing leagl pins in and appriasing without formal notice. They have trspass issues to deal with and say they will be resolved by 'aquiring a portion of property' yet we have not agreed to sell them anything. Any advice? There are not too many other 2 acrre parcels of riverfront where I live so finding comparables is going to be a challenge.

I really value your piece of work, Great post.

2011-06-23T03:13:11.868-04:00

I really value your piece of work, Great post.

ONE HAS TO BE CAREFUL HERE IN ALBERTA NOW AS THE P...

2011-06-08T13:31:12.857-04:00

ONE HAS TO BE CAREFUL HERE IN ALBERTA NOW AS THE PRESENT REGIME HAS EXTENSIVE POWERS TO PASS DRACONIAN LAWS ALLOWING THE STATE TO SIMPLY SIEZE PRIVATE LANDS WITH NO COMPENSATION OR RECOURSE TO THE COURTS. I HEARD THEY FIRED THE CHAIR OR CEO OF THE SURFACE RIGHTS BOARD , IS THAT TRUE? IT WOULD SURE SEND THE MESSAGE NOT TO GET TOO FAIR WITH LANDOWNERS. AS FAR AS PATTERN OF DEALINGS THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT IS SOME OF THE BIG RANCHERS IN MY AREA GET SIDE DEALS FOR "PAINT DAMAGE ETC" AND OTHER FAVOURS REGARDING DUGOUTS AND EQUIPMENT USE THAT US SMALL GUYS CANNOT GET OR PROVE.

As a defendant (cottager) in this suit, I would li...

2011-04-12T21:07:48.759-04:00

As a defendant (cottager) in this suit, I would like to clarify that the defendants (cottagers) were awarded $15,000 in costs & NOT the Municipality. The defendants (cottagers) had their own legal counsel & pursued the Motion to Dismiss, (which the Municipality did not participate in & in fact sat back & watched to see what the fate of the cottagers would be).

If you're looking for information on the effec...

2011-03-12T15:28:46.175-05:00

If you're looking for information on the effect of oil and gas wells on water supplies, I would suggest you check with CAEPLA - the Canadian Association of Energy and Pipeline Landowner Associations at www.landownerassociation.ca

Do you know if there have been complaints of water...

2011-03-12T13:15:42.157-05:00

Do you know if there have been complaints of water well contamination from the oil and gas wells? Any credibility to the documentary "Gasland"?

Thank you for your questions, Karina. Prices paid...

2011-03-12T12:37:11.411-05:00

Thank you for your questions, Karina. Prices paid to lease land depend in large part on the market value of the land involved. I would suggest that you consult a lawyer or other real estate professional in the area to see what solar companies, including Samsung, have been paying.

As for the other questions you have, the answers depend on the wording of the lease. Again, I would suggest that you consult with someone knowledgeable about leases who can explain the meaning of the contractual terms to you.

It would always be open to your mother to offer to sell her property to Samsung rather than leasing it. There is no guarantee, though, that the offer would be accepted.

Hello, My mother owns 23 acres near rural Kingston...

2011-03-10T11:35:25.131-05:00

Hello,
My mother owns 23 acres near rural Kingston. Her property is largely wooded, and not suited to agriculture, but her neighbours do have horse and cattle farms.

She, along with her neighbours, has been approached to rent her land to Samsung to build solar farms. Before she commits or declines their offer, what is fair to expect per acre for a 20 year lease? And how would the lease affect her ability to renovate her home, build out buildings, or even sell her property should she wish to move? Would Samsung be responsible should this affect her water table? Increase insurance premiums and property taxes? Could she offer to sell her property to them instead of leasing it so she could move away from the project completely?
Any guidance is appreciated.

Correction: Mr. McKelvey of Rosemont Livestock was...

2011-02-28T12:55:40.141-05:00

Correction: Mr. McKelvey of Rosemont Livestock was kind enough to call me today to relate his story on the Federal Court of Appeal decision. He clarified that he did participate in the appeal hearing, but by videoconference from Saskatchewan. A panel of three judges heard the case. The CFIA's lawyer went first. The Court then recessed for 20 minutes. When the panel members came back, they didn't need to hear from McKelvey as the decision had already been made in his favour.

Assuming that the gas valve belongs to a private e...

2011-02-13T13:29:42.598-05:00

Assuming that the gas valve belongs to a private entity, it is likely that the only way it can be in place legally is through agreement or by statutory authority. Your comment seems to indicate that there is no agreement and no statutory authority, since no agency has been successful in getting it removed. If the private entity has no right to have the valve there, then the Court could make an order requiring its removal. It sounds, though, as if there is more to the story than that.

Because of a 6ft. high gas valve on my building lo...

2011-02-12T23:42:36.755-05:00

Because of a 6ft. high gas valve on my building lot It has become unsaleable. Potential loss $180,000. No permission was given for it, no permit taken out, it is in a dangerous location yet NO agency has had any success getting a commitment to have it removed. What now?
R. Smith

What a farmer petitioner can do if hired engineer ...

2010-11-15T20:53:27.520-05:00

What a farmer petitioner can do if hired engineer runs up the cost of perlimnary report to turn the drain in farm to municiple drain by doing almost complete design rather than adhering to the guide lines to produce perliminary report. if farmer pulls out than he pays the full cost minus grant if stays in for the final reort it cost more. both costs are not affordable. what farmer can do in the face of unprinciple engineering.

Dear Ms. Lockhart, Thank you for your question. I...

2010-10-31T15:03:17.487-04:00

Dear Ms. Lockhart,

Thank you for your question. I have been away the past few days giving presentations at the OMAFRA Farm Tax & Business Seminars. I see now that a decision was rendered in your case on October 28 and has been posted to the Tribunal website.

Your guess is as good as mine as to why there may be a delay in receiving a decision. While your case might not have been a complex one, there are other factors that can affect the length of time a decision will take to make. For instance, the current scheduling of other hearings may delay a Board member from writing his or her decision.

In most non-urgent cases, all one can do is wait for the decision to be rendered and rarely, if ever, will reasons for a delay be disclosed.

Hello Mr. Goudy; I have just read some of your com...

2010-10-28T12:38:33.802-04:00

Hello Mr. Goudy;
I have just read some of your comprehensive blog items. Very informative.

I appealed to the Ontario Drainage Tribunal regarding the Mindemoya Drain and Yonge Street Reconstruction Project on September lst, 2010. It has now been over eight weeks since the hearing took place before tribunal Chair Susan Whelan and we have heard absolutely nothing. We normally would hear results within a month, and, in fact, all other tribunals since mine have posted results on the OMAFRA website.

Mine was not a particularly complex hearing and only 2 appellants were heard.

Can you shed any light on why this matter is taking so long?

Much thank.
Lois Lockhart, Mindemoya, Ontario

CanWEA would like the public to believe it is an e...

2010-08-23T17:15:33.549-04:00

CanWEA would like the public to believe it is an enviornmental group or a government agency. It is instead made up of highly paid industrial lobbyists highered to put a rosy spin on placing antiquated wind turnbines in our lakes. While other countries were reconsidering their turbine placement our province in 2006 gave 2.5 billion and a promise of an additional 30 billion dollars to private wind power corporations with little or no government oversight on this very important issue. Our shameful that our government has chosen to ABANDON us. EBR 011-0089

May be their can be many reasons that can occur fo...

2010-08-22T05:12:42.327-04:00

May be their can be many reasons that can occur for closing of that pipeline. Hence you have given a valid reason.

I love your blog! You will be in our prayers and t...

2010-08-06T05:48:52.354-04:00

I love your blog! You will be in our prayers and thoughts! Nice and informative post on this topic thanks for sharing with us.Thank you!

Dear Lois, There may have been some information p...

2010-07-05T09:12:22.173-04:00

Dear Lois,

There may have been some information provided in the latest Hydro One webinar during the questions section at the end of the presentation: http://www.hydroone.com/Generators/Documents/Webinars/Webinar_June24_2010_Audio.wav

Nothing is mentioned about this issue in the written materials for the program.

All I can say about the possibility of priority being given to existing applicants is that this has often been the way OPA and Hydro One have dealt with previous delays in green energy programs. Of course, that means depending on the goodwill of Hydro One. Any rights you may have outside of that will depend on the facts and contractual documentation related to your own specific situation. A lawyer may be able to help identify your options (i.e. apart from simply waiting for Hydro One to deal with the backlog).

Based on Ontario's advertised price for the Mi...

2010-07-03T21:30:17.073-04:00

Based on Ontario's advertised price for the MicroFIT feed-in program, we submitted an application on April 25th. We got a loan and had a free-standing <10Kw array installed. We have no conditional contract because Ontario Hydro was behind in processing applications. Now we not only hear that the price for free standing applications has been reduced, but we have to wait 30 days to reapply. There are 16,000 unanswered applications out there and I'm sure we are not alone. The installer assured us we would be hearing back soon. Is there any priority being given to existing applicants or will we be starting over in August? Meanwhile, we have neighbours who are hooked up and recieving returns of 80.2 cents. What do you advise? What can the 16,000 "reclassified" applicants do? I ask you, because we get no response from the microfit program people other than "dear occupant, get a lawyer" types of emails.

Thank you

Lois

Thank you for your questions. I assume you're...

2010-06-29T12:33:13.339-04:00

Thank you for your questions. I assume you're asking about the smaller microFIT projects. The most popular of these for home or farm owners is the installation of solar panels, either on a building or on a free-standing platform. The benefit under the microFIT program is a financial one. You sell power into the electricity grid. Whether or not it makes sense to do it is a financial question. The upfront investment can be substantial, and a home or farm owner will have to determine whether the ultimate payoff will be worthwhile.

Hi Very latest news about FIT program. You are k...

2010-06-29T11:34:29.302-04:00

Hi

Very latest news about FIT program. You are keeping eye on these programs. How do you think about the benefit of the program to houseowner or farmer, Which kind of houseowner or farmer could invest to such program.

Safety first. If human life is at stake and there ...

2010-06-28T12:10:13.592-04:00

Safety first. If human life is at stake and there are no alternative areas to run wire then it must be done.

But all this carrying on about God given rights. You're crazy.. Doesn't God care about every living thing equally? A tree's life and existance that is one of the few of it's kind and on the brink of extinction that is alive and well is up to you whether it dies or lives? You bought land from someone that didn't own it in the first place and that tree and it's ancestors have been the rightful holders of that land for time eternal.

5 saplings do not replace the environmental benefits or an adult tree in terms of carbon mitigation and from 5 years from now the 3 saplings still wouldn't haven't developed enough to do this yet, either.

Just because we don't have the technology to substantively quantify the benefits of that tree socially doesn't mean you can just hack away at one of "god's" miracles.