What are your rights?
Conservation council holds information session Sunday on N.B. uranium exploration
Property owners in New Brunswick who find uranium mining prospectors driving stakes and placing markers on their land don't have the right to send the surveyors packing, but they do have the right to be kept informed if and when the exploration company starts moving equipment onto their land to start drilling test holes.
"Landowners are always supposed to be notified if a company is prospecting on their land, but it doesn't always happen," says Ron Shaw, the recorder of mines who looks after prospecting licences for the Department of Natural Resources. "New Brunswick is the only jurisdiction in Canada that requires this, mainly because we don't want landowners to be surprised when they find their property has been staked."
Right now, there are several companies scouring the rural areas of southeastern New Brunswick, staking claims and actually drilling test holes in search of uranium. Last year, the province signed an agreement with CVRD Inco Ltd., granting the mining company five-year exclusive rights to search for uranium in southwestern New Brunswick. The area consists of a 136,000-hectare area between Sussex and Moncton.
Uranium is a dense metal which is found in most rocks and geologists believe it could be found here in New Brunswick. Prices of uranium have been on the rise in recent years due to short supply. Uranium is mainly used as fuel in nuclear power generators, but critics also say it is also used in nuclear weapons. While safe underground, critics of uranium exploration say test holes could act like chimneys to allow toxic chemicals from the metal to escape to the surface. These chemicals could poison the air and any nearby water supplies and remain for many years.
The recent activity in New Brunswick has prompted the Conservation Council of New Brunswick to call a public meeting for this Sunday, March 30 at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton. The purpose of the meeting is to educate the public and invited government representatives of the dangers of uranium prospecting and mining, while encouraging the public to engage in an open dialogue on the matter. The meeting will address many factors of the issue, including government laws, possible water contamination, economic and social impacts, and possible health effects of uranium.
Guest speaker at the meeting will be Melissa Fontaine. Her family operates an organic strawberry farm near Cocagne. One of the family's two water wells was contaminated during a test drilling operation. Paul Fontaine told the Times & Transcript this week that the contamination was the result of hydrogen sulfide and not uranium. The water is safe to drink but has a rotten egg smell that makes it unsuitable for drinking or washing. Fontaine said the drilling company expects to return this spring in an effort to repair the damage and drill a new well for the farm.
Shaw said the actual rights of property owners in New Brunswick are blurry when applied to natural resources, because the government retains the rights to what lies beneath our individual, ground-level properties.
He explained that back in the mid-1700s, when what is now New Brunswick was still part of Nova Scotia, land grants to private citizens gave people the ground-level property, but retained the rights to any gold, coal, lead or other valuable natural resources that might be found in the rock below. In essence, that means landowners own the land, but nothing beneath it.
Under the terms of the mining act, prospectors do not have to advise landowners that they are going to stake a claim. This means they can drive stakes and put up markers, but not in a way that they will damage the property or interfere with the owner's use of it.
Prospectors are not subject to the trespass act, which means they can cross your property without permission.
If a property owner tries to remove the markers, they can actually be fined.
"These markers are just as legal as the surveyor pins that mark property lines," Shaw said.
If a mining company wants to drill test holes, use equipment or do anything else on private land, they must make a deal with the property owner and agree to compensate the owner for any damage or loss of land that might occur. They must also keep the property owner notified every step of the way and adhere to environmental guidelines while doing the work, especially around water sources.
If mining companies feel they have enough to justify setting up a mine, they must go through the red tape of both the provincial and federal governments. Uranium mines are subject to federal legislation. In this case the mining company would likely make a deal to purchase the property.
Last year, Shaw talked to over 600 property owners last year who received notices in the mail that their land would be subject to test drilling. He said most were happy after having the process explained to them, some others were irate and wanted the prospectors off their land immediately.
Shaw isn't sure how far a property owner could take a legal fight to keep miners off their land.
While most of the claims are on rural properties, woodland, Crown land and farms, there is a possibility that the mining prospectors could move into municipalities or subdivisions. Shaw said he's not sure how far a town or city's legal fight to keep them away would be, but noted again all work must be done with the landowner's permission.
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
