Oil field stigma

[cowman]

I think that type of road building was fairly standard in much of the province, Horse? In the spring the willows still out in places around here!
Those roads were built for horses and wagons or maybe Model As, but have a hard time with B-trains, heavy rigs and manure trucks!
Actually some of these lighter coalbed rigs can move even when the road bans are on!
We have a lot of oil field activity in my area. The people destroying the roads
are seldom the rigs but silage trucks and heavy hog manure trucks/wagons! The oil companies post a bond...not so the feedlot or hog barn! When the rig is moving they have a private grader out...when the silage trucks are rolling the county grader is out...guess on who's dime?
Not real sure about this but I believe the money the county gets from the oil activity pays more than the total maitenance budget for operations in the county!

[cowman]

In this county any damage done by industry is paid for by industry, this includes gravel and grader time. Not only that, but if there is any kind of industry haul that creates excess dust they are required to have a water truck available.
I would suggest that most counties have these requirements, if Barrhead County doesn't then perhaps the county taxpayers should demand that they do.

[Horse]

Yes I have a 2 oil leases on owned land I dont have any crown leases BUT you still didnt answer the question would we not have these things if we didnt have oil revenue, as for maintaining the roads sure they grade the top but it is the road bed that gets pushed out into the ditch thats where the damage is done.

[Horse]

horse, doesn't your county pull shoulders on roads that get pounded out ?

As for having all the things we do without the oil revenue, I guess you would need to ask businessmen in your community, Whitecourt, Mayerthorpe, and many other places. Are they selling more vehicles, are hotels and motels and retaurants doing a larger volume of business, are people buying houses etc.

If you can't see any benefit to Albertans from the resources we have, then certainly you have your right to that opinion.

You may feel that your local hospital hasn't been enhanced by provincial dollars but you cannot deny that we have state of the art hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary, as well as cancer clinics that are as good as any. These things were made possible by huge injections of provincial money....maybe it came from farmland assessment, but I doubt it. I know that the $1200 I pay on my home quarter is about what it costs to maintain the road along it for one year.

[cowman]

Well Horse, we might have them, oil revenue or not? I don't know. Do other provinces...I assume they do?
Personally I would like to see all oil and gas revenue go to the people of Alberta and let taxation take care of the roads, hospitals, schools etc.? I mean it is our oil and gas, not the beurocrats?

[cowman]

It could be done cowman, if the government could say NO to frills eg: huge sports complexes in every whistle stop in the province.
The funding that the province injects into these would go a long way toward education, roads, health care etc., but because people want the soft services some of the cost must come from the taxpayer.

[Horse]

Emerald you have got to be a spin dr for someone, I never said that albertians dont benifit I said the farmers dont benefit and yes they pull some sholders and make a hell of a mess for the yr it is done and no the companys wrecking the roads dont pay for that they grade and mabey sprinkle a little gravel and that is it.
I still say we will be here after the oil is gone and somehow we will have services.

[Horse]

horse this may come as a surprise to you but farmers are ALBERTANS too !!! We all receive some benefit from the oil industry whether or not we want to admit it.
You have your mind made up, and I think differently. I have never been accused of being a spin doctor horse, I just try and be fair and give credit where its due, and speak out against things I feel are wrong.

Of course your road will be rough for the year after the shoulders are pulled but it usually packs down and is a fairly stable road after time.