Wheatley Updates

The Site Excavation, Re-entry, and Data Analysis Preliminary Report is now available! 📄

This report provides key insights into the progress made at the Wheatley site following the 2021 explosion. It includes:
✅ Detailed findings from the excavation
✅ Steps taken for safe re-entry
✅ Data analysis outcomes

We invite the community to review this important document to stay informed about the ongoing recovery efforts and next steps.

📥 Access the report here: Preliminary Report Link

Site Enhancements and Landscaping

With the departure of contractors, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent is now overseeing essential tasks to prepare the site for spring. This includes:

• Site Leveling & Grass Seeding: The site will be leveled and planted with wheat and grass seed to reduce dust and improve its appearance over the coming months.
• Sidewalk Repairs: Work is underway to address necessary sidewalk repairs for safer pedestrian access.

Scrubber Monitoring and Safety Fencing

The scrubber will remain on-site for a six-month monitoring period, which began at the end of October. Temporary fencing around the scrubber has been re-installed to ensure safety during this period. Additionally, a smaller fence will be erected around the wellhead.

Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) staff will continue to oversee the site until all monitoring equipment is configured for remote alerts. Once this system is operational, it will monitor for gas 24/7. Daily checks will ensure proper functionality, and in the event of any gas detection, the system will issue alarms, prompting an immediate response from the crew.

PW Trailer and Wellhead Decisions

The PW trailer will remain stationed at 17 Elm Street for at least the duration of the six-month monitoring period. Pending favourable monitoring results, discussions will be held on the future of the wellhead, specifically whether it will be left as is or cut and buried, a decision that will be made with guidance from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF).

Thank you for your attention and ongoing support during this phase of the project.

Business and Community Service Organization 1:1 Interviews

Throughout November, the Task Force and Economic Development Office (EDO) are conducting a series of one-on-one interviews with business owners and community service organizations in Wheatley. These interviews are part of our ongoing efforts to gather insights and strengthen support for the local community.

If you are a business owner or work with a community service organization and have not yet scheduled an interview, we encourage you to reach out to Kyra Knapp at kyra.knapp@chatham-kent.ca to arrange a convenient time. Your input is valuable to our work in supporting Wheatley's growth and resilience.

UPDATE: Drilling operations continue. Due to some logistical problems with acquiring services and materials, our projected date for the drilling equipment to move out is extended to October 23rd. After this date you may see other Chatham-Kent equipment working on the site to complete fencing, topsoiling and seeding.

At 6:00 pm on Saturday the surface casing was successfully installed and cemented into place. This installation will greatly contribute to the overall safety of further operations. The blow out preventer will now be installed prior to drilling deeper into the well. It is our belief that we are still tracking the original wellbore that was probably drilled between 1890 and 1910 and subsequently abandoned in the 1930s. While we are drilling deeper we will be conducting many tests, including; gas, geologic and pressure analysis.

We continue to watch for any changes in the monitoring well. Currently the monitoring well has stopped venting any gas, including H2S. Ongoing testing of the monitoring well and other wells that were previously abandoned on the site will further our understanding and help to confirm if we have been successful in stopping the gas migration.

Following the discovery of a potential petroleum well found in downtown Wheatley, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent is hosting a community open house for Wheatley residents tomorrow September 24^th from 2pm-3pm at the Wheatley Village Resource Centre.

Municipal representatives and consultants will be on hand to explain technical details and answer any questions. Materials will be posted on the Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent Wheatley Emergency Webpage for those who cannot attend, located at www.letstalkchatham-kent.ca/wheatley-updates.

Part of the conversation will be around the operational plan instigated by the investigation project team that will involve bringing the contracted drilling rig to the site to further investigate the potential petroleum well found. The mobilization of the rig will bring much more activity to the site including noise and light, once drilling operations begin, they will operate 24 hours per day 7 days per week as communicated during the last public meeting.

The project team has found what they believe is a wooden-cased petroleum well on the site of 17 Talbot Street East underneath the cement floor. No hydrogen sulfide gas has been detected but small amounts (300ppm) of methane can be detected.

The team is assessing next steps and will be following the operational plan. The venting hood will be placed over the well when practical as an extra precaution.

At this time there is no risk to the community from this finding. The immediate next step will be to install a conductor pipe over the well and bring it back to surface. Once further details are known they will be communicated.

Chatham-Kent Fire & Rescue Services as well as Chatham-Kent EMS remain on site at all times to ensure the safety of the site and the surrounding community.

Updates continue to be posted on the Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent Wheatley Updates webpage, located at www.letstalkchatham-kent.ca/wheatley-updates. Residents are encouraged to check back often as information on progress and future schedules will be posted here.

The final phase of investigation in downtown Wheatley is nearing completion, with contractors having investigated roughly 75% of the affected properties. Work is currently underway at the site of 15 Talbot Road East and will continue east towards 23 Talbot Road East property in the coming days.

To date, there have been no active gas wells discovered. On September 18, excavation activities uncovered a historic brick structure with a 2” pipe in the middle immediately beneath the cement slab of 15 Talbot Road E. No natural gas was detected in the hole or pipe. Equipment was mobilized to evaluate the depth and type of well. On September 19, further excavation revealed the depth to be approximately 4 meters below grade, and native soil was located at this depth indicating that no deep well is present. Backfilling of the area will continue. Once backfilling is competed the excavation activities will continue as per the original plan.

The investigation work will continue at least into next week, and should anything substantial be found, work will continue after that to address any issue present. Chatham-Kent Fire & Rescue Services as well as Chatham-Kent EMS remain on site at all times to ensure the safety of the site and the surrounding community.

Media releases will only be posted in the event of significant milestones or if pertinent information needs to be communicated to the public.

Many people in Wheatley have been asking about our progress on the site. Here are a few pictures to give you some idea where we are. The first picture shows the site after APEC’s 1, 2 and 3 were located and abandoned and after the installation of the scrubber that is housed in the sea can. Picture 2 shows after all the buildings were demolished. Picture 3 shows the site immediately prior to work staring on September 3^rd. Picture 4 shows our progress to noon on Thursday September 12^th. We started our work at 37 Eire and are currently on 9 Talbot. We are making good progress.

People are curious about how we will know when we locate a well. We had some excitement on Tuesday this week when we found a round hole buried behind 23 Eire. We eventually concluded that the feature was an old privy. The photographs show what we found and the progression of determining what the feature was. When we first come across an interesting feature, we take gas samples to determine if the gas is from a biological source (like an outhouse or rotting vegetation) or a thermogenic source (deep in the earth where oil and gas is produced from). In this case we determined the source as biological and continued to excavate until we came to the bottom of the feature. If we found a thermogenic source, we would secure the gas flow to ensure we have no dangerous emissions, then proceed to determine what kind of well we have encountered, a gas or water well.

As part of the final phase investigation currently taking place in downtown Wheatley, emergency exercises are being conducted on site.

These are mock emergency scenarios being conducted as a part of training for staff on site to practice responses to several potential emergency situations.

As part of the final phase investigation currently taking place in downtown Wheatley, equipment has been staging at the work site throughout the week.

This equipment requires additional space for storage, and as a result, the roadway and sidewalk between 22 Elm Street and the corner of Elm and Erie Streets has been added to the work site and will be closed to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic until the work has been completed.

This closure is a temporary necessity, and the road and sidewalk will reopen once the investigation work is completed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Wheatley Public Information Package provides critical updates on safety measures, current developments, and preparation guidelines as part of the town's ongoing recovery efforts.

You can access the full package here: Wheatley Public Info Package