January 25 2008 | News Clippings | Prince Rupert Daily News
Opponents of coal gas project air grievances
By Monica Lamb-Yorski , Special to the Daily News
The debate over coalbed methane (CBM) is hitting closer to home for people on the North Coast as plans by Royal Dutch Shell to install 14 new CBM wells, 11 of them in the Skeena Watershed, may be realized.
“I’ve written Royal Dutch Shell and asked for a map of the proposed wells but haven’t heard back,” said Sharon McPhail, executive director of the Skeena Watershed Coalition Campaign from her home in the Kispiox Valley on Thursday evening.
Earlier in the week, McPhail and Kateri Clay, also from the coalition, were in Prince Rupert to make a presentation at Northwest Community College.
They have been travelling to communities along the Skeena River urging citizens and local politicians to lobby the B.C. government to halt further coalbed methane gas development.
In Prince Rupert, they met with MLA Gary Coons, who was receptive, and they’ve arranged with Gordon Blumhagen of Rainforest Books to host some movie nights. They’ve also sent letters to city council and the Department of Fisheries, requesting the opportunity to make presentations.
Coalbed methane is a controversial form of gas development that opponents say has a record of environmental harm across North America. It requires a higher density of wells than conventional gas, and in B.C., no environmental assessment is required for coalbed methane field development, McPhail told the crowded classroom of people at the college on Tuesday. After a power point presentation, outlining the method of coalbed methane development and the campaign’s concerns, people had the opportunity to watch Kalbona, first aired on CTV’s First Story in November.
The 25-minute film explored the story of the Tahltan people and their protest against coalbed methane development in their traditional territory and gave viewers a rare glimpse of the pristine area known as the Sacred Headwaters, the birthplace of three of the world’s most important salmon rivers, the Stikine, Nass and Skeena.
Aerial photographs of Wyoming and Colorado show areas where coalbed methane development has stripped the landscape bare. Stories of people claiming to be able to light tap water on fire are not uncommon.
During the question and answer period, people asked McPhail if her presentation is one-sided.
“Yes it is,” she readily admitted. For the young mother, who studied to become a chemical technician and later worked as a welder, McPhail is devoting her life to present one side.
“You feel good about coalbed methane when you read the B.C. government website and they say they aren’t going to do any damage but then you hear from American farmers who go on tour in Alberta warning communities where coalbed methane has been proposed not to let it happen. There are too many variables, risks and too many unanswered questions,” she said.