Petrolia's mayor says the town is not prepared to pay for infrastructure needed to pipe water to a proposed greenhouse facility at Oil Heritage Rd. and Edys Mills Line. John McCharles says they're willing to accommodate the project, if it can be done, but it's a matter of who pays for what. "I think there has to be an engineering study to determine what the costs are going to be," says McCharles. "Dawn-Euphemia has stepped up to the plate to take on that cost. We're not going to put the infrastructure in at the cost of the Petrolia ratepayers. That's simply not fair. If the developer is willing to pay some capital costs and we're able to provide the water, we would certainly do that." Greenhill Produce of Chatham-Kent hopes to build an $80 to $100-million greenhouse on 100 acres of land that could employ 150 to 300 people. The facility, however, could double the demand for water in Dawn-Euphemia which purchases its water from Enniskillen Township.
Photo submitted by the Town of Petrolia.
