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Preamble:
WHEREAS access, adverse effects and surface rights for right of ways and surface leases has been primarily based on agricultural productivity values for the past 25 years;AND WHEREAS these productivity values have not changed;AND WHEREAS the value of the product being produced from these wells has increased exponentially;AND WHEREAS the use of agricultural land may have other potential uses besides the production of agricultural products;
Operative Clause:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the provincial government to amend the Surface Rights Act to include a schedule that reflects current oil and gas prices and the potential for a change of use for the land;AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties encourage the provincial government to pursue annual compensation on all pipelines within all quarter sections.
Member Background:
Rural municipalities have determined that industrial and commercial requirements for land outside urban areas are increasing and subsequently the landscape is changing. Drilling wells effectively sterilize the use of the land surrounding them for every other use except farming, therefore limiting options and choices for landowners.Additionally, municipalities have concluded that currently there is no correlation between the compensation paid to the landowner for granting an oil company the privilege to access the oil and gas and the price realized for that product. The higher the price for oil and gas gets, the higher the cost for the landowner to produce agri-foods becomes. Municipalities have pressed to develop a legislation that will account for these factors.
RMA Background:
With the exception of the Further Be It Resolved clause, this resolution was originally submitted at the Fall 2005 Convention as 36-05F. At that time, it was amended to call upon the provincial government to make changes to the Surface Rights Act to pay annual compensation from pipelines and to include an entry fee of $1,500 per acre to a maximum of $15,000 per title schedule, and that land value is set to 150 per cent of appraised value.
Development:
The AAMDC Board of Directors commissioned the AAMDC Surface Rights Act Review Task Force. The first meeting was held in summer of 2006. In March 2007, the Task Force released its final report entitled Digging Deeper: Bringing Albertas Surface Rights Act into the 21st Century.SRD received the report in 2007 and notified the AAMDC that it will be used as tool to facilitate future consultations on the Surface Rights Act. The Association will rely on the findings of Digging Deeper as a basis, including those surrounding compensation for oil and gas well and pipelines. On July 15, 2008, the Government of Alberta announced that an MLA committee will assist the Alberta government with implementation of key priorities of Albertas Land-use Framework, including the development of a transportation and utility corridors strategy, a recreation strategy and a review of landowners rights legislation. The committee will be chaired by Evan Berger, MLA for Livingstone-Macleod and Parliamentary Assistant for Sustainable Resource Development, and will report back to Minister Morton. One aspect of this committees work will be a review of the Surface Rights Act. In early September 2008, MLA Evan Berger formally requested a copy of Digging Deeper. The committee will be using the AAMDC report as a primary source of ideas and will consider its recommendations in reviewing the Surface Rights Act.
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