December 18 2008 » News Clippings » The Chronicle - Montreal
BC Group Calls for Suspension of all Coalbed Methane Drilling in Province
VANCOUVER, B.C. – A coalition of B.C. citizens’ groups is calling for the suspension of all coalbed methane drilling in the province until better policies are put in place.
Citizens Concerned About Coalbed Methane is launching a provincewide campaign aiming at restoring public confidence in the process used to approve and regulate energy projects.
Earlier this month, the province approved a BP Canada coalbed project at Mist Mountain near Fernie in the East Kootenay region, while on the same announcing a two-year moratorium on a similar plan by Shell Canada in the Klappan area in northwestern B.C.
Coalition spokesman Ted Ralfe said the group isn’t against mining and gas drilling altogether, but wants to make sure a safe plan is in place before the environment is potentially affected.
“What we are saying is that in order to do it properly, there has to be a balance between development and wildlife,” Ralfe said.
“If you destroy the attractiveness of this area, then what’s that worth?”
The coalition’s action plan calls for communities to have a clearer say in where and how coalbed methane projects proceed.
The projects would undergo mandatory environmental assessments that study cumulative impacts.
“The landscape is potentially going to be covered with projects and if you simply assess each one on an individual basis, you’re not getting a complete picture of what could happen to the entire landscape,” Ralfe said.
“That’s why we want cumulative impacts across the region of all the prospective projects that region is facing.”
Ralfe said the action plan also calls for the province’s own energy regulations to be fully implemented and enforced, and for funds to be dedicated to independent research of coalbed methane technologies.
Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition executive director Shannon McPhail said industry should be interested in the plan because it will allow good projects to proceed safely and smoothly.
“Our goal is to better the investment climate by making sure we have sound regulations and less problems with communities dealing with this,” McPhail said.
“Everywhere that coalbed methane has been presented, it’s been met with serious opposition. We’re trying to put things in place so that doesn’t happen.”
The action plan has been in the works since the BP Canada plan was approved and Ralfe said he’s cautiously optimistic it will get the attention of government.
Energy minister Richard Neufeld wasn’t immediately available for comment.
BP’s Mist Mountain project could last for decades and was awarded over the objections of Fernie city council, which passed a resolution earlier this year condemning the project.
The council said BP Canada has not engaged the community in a transparent manner and that there are considerable unknowns to the project, including short-term and long-term impacts.
Several politicians across the border in the U.S. spoke out against the Mist Mountain project, including Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, who has expressed concern the project could affect water quality and wildlife south of the border.
The two-year moratorium on Shell Canada’s drilling in the Klappan area was placed after the project faced growing dissent from local First Nations and locals.
