December 08 2008 » News Clippings » Globe and Mail
Anger erupts over conflicting coal bed decisions
A proposal to wrest unconventional gas – also known as coalbed methane – from an area near Fernie, B.C., in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains has
moved another step closer to reality, with the province granting BP Canada
tenure for its Mist Mountain project.
But opponents of the project are furious, especially since the province on
the same day – Friday – announced a two-year moratorium on coal bed activity
in the Klappan, where native bands and conservation groups had dug in
against Shell Canada’s plan to explore for the resource.
“Why have they ignored concerned citizens in the Elk Valley and granted BP
tenure, yet at the same time they have imposed a two-year moratorium on
[coalbed methane] development in northwestern B.C.?” said Casey Brennan, a
program manager for Fernie-based conservation group Wildsight.
The BP tenure was granted after a comprehensive referral process that
included local natives, communities and government agencies, B.C. Energy
Minister Richard Neufeld said yesterday.
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BP’s Mist Mountain project could last 50 years and feature as many as 150
well pads consisting of 10 wells per site. The company has spent the past
few years doing preliminary work in the 500-square-kilometre project area in
southeastern British Columbia. Fernie City Council opposes the project, but
the nearby town of Elkford backs it.
The province is keen to develop B.C.‘s extensive coalbed-methane reserves,
but some residents of potential production areas are less enthusiastic.
Shell Canada has had coal bed interests in northwestern B.C. since 2004, but
has had its exploration program mostly on hold since 2005, saying it
respected local communities’ demands for more consultation.
Friday’s announcement by the province means Shell’s exploration is shelved
for at least another two years.
Conservation groups are worried about potential impacts on salmon. The area
Shell wants to explore contains the headwaters of the Skeena, Nass and
Stikine Rivers.
The Tahltan natives – comprising on-reserve and off-reserve residents living
in Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake and Iskut – need time to come up with a
sustainable resource plan, said Anita McPhee, chair of the Tahltan Central
Council.
“At this point in time we can’t see this type of development advancing
without having full and complete information,” she said.
“There needs to be a proper framework for decision making. And there also
needs to an informed decision-making process. And that wasn’t taking place.”
The coalbed-methane decisions were made as natural gas prices are falling
and other projects are winding down or being delayed.
Toronto-based Barrick Gold’s Eskay Creek mine, a profitable gold and silver
operation that employed many Tahltan workers and contractors, wound up
production early this year.
Galore Creek, a massive copper-gold project jointly owned by Vancouver
companies Teck Cominco and NovaGold Resources, was put on hold last year
after costs ballooned.
Other potential projects are on hold pending a commodity comeback or new
infrastructure, including a proposed electricity transmission line for the
region.
That slowdown poses employment challenges, but doesn’t lessen the Tahltan’s
determination to take a cautious approach to development, Ms. McPhee said.
“There are definitely some economic development challenges because of the
financial crisis,” she said. “In Tahltan territory and everywhere, I
suspect.”
