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April 14 2008 » News Clippings » Hansard Blues

Transcript of BC Legislature coalbed methane debate: MLAs Austin and McKay

COALBED METHANE DEVELOPMENT
IN THE SACRED HEADWATERS

R. Austin: I’d like to take a few minutes to talk about coalbed methane in the Sacred Headwaters. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] The Sacred Headwaters is a very special place. It’s the source of the three most important rivers in the Skeena region. These rivers are amongst the most wild and ecologically productive waterways in the province. All three are rich sources of wild salmon, and each of them plays a part in attracting economic benefits to the communities I represent, through tourism and our world-renowned sport fishery. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] Although I am biased, I think there is plenty of evidence to support my belief that northwest British Columbia is the crown jewel of this province, a treasure that should be treated with the utmost care. That is why I have been a tireless advocate of the precautionary principle, especially when it concerns the rivers, which are truly the lifeline of the region that I represent. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] The Skeena, the Nass and the Stikine are all born in the Sacred Headwaters, deep in the heart of Tahltan traditional territory. All three are also threatened by plans to develop coalbed methane in one of the most crucial and intact ecosystems left in the world. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] My constituents are pragmatic. Some of them would even consider it an insult to be called an environmentalist, and few among them are too shy to embrace a sensible development when it is presented to them. However, people in the Skeena region have weathered more than their share of economic downturns. They have become adept at measuring the benefits of projects versus the losses that they cause. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] They know that sometimes a job in one project will eliminate a job somewhere else. That is one of the reasons why my constituents fought long and hard against fish farms in the north. Wild salmon bring hundreds of millions of dollars into our region every year. Those who travel to communities like Terrace and Kitimat to land a legendary sockeye return home to Japan, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, to countries scattered far and wide, and tell their fish stories to their friends. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] The direct and indirect benefits that wild salmon bring to our region cannot be measured, but they should not be underestimated. The people of my region judge that the jobs offered by fish farms could not possibly hope to replace those jobs that would be lost through the collapse of our wild salmon stocks and the subsequent damage that would be inflicted upon our reputation as an international fishing destination. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

[1050]

It is for many of the same reasons that people in the northwest, not only in my constituency but also people from the North Coast and from Bulkley Valley–Stikine, are vehemently opposed to coalbed methane development in the Sacred Headwaters. There are, of course, other reasons, but the failure of this project to provide more benefits than risks to northwest British Columbians is this proposal’s most egregious shortfall. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] As I recognize that the other members of this House may not be as well-informed on this issue as I am, I would like to share some of the most pressing concerns I have heard expressed about the exploitation of coalbed methane reserves in the Sacred Headwaters area. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] There are essentially two main objections to coalbed methane development. The first is that it is hazardous to the environment, and the second is that the corresponding economic opportunities it provides are not great enough to offset the losses caused by the degradation of local water supplies, falling property values and the destruction of lucrative living resources such as wild salmon. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] Coalbed methane has a huge environmental footprint. Sources from Royal Dutch Shell, the company that hopes to move forward with this development, confirm that they want to build over a thousand wells. Many believe the actual total will be much higher. Each well drilled disrupts three to four acres of land and requires both road and pipeline access. Each linear mile of road disrupts about four acres of adjacent habitat. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] The Sacred Headwaters is host to the world’s largest herd of Osborn caribou and a healthy bear population. Both of these species are sensitive to habitat fragmentation. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] However, the most insidious and threatening aspect of this development is the large-scale water contamination which is likely to result from coalbed methane extraction if it is allowed to take place. This water contamination is three-fold and present in virtually every jurisdiction, at varying levels, where this form of resource extraction has been allowed to proceed. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] The first source of water contamination comes from the fossil water that is pumped out of coal seams in order to release the methane gas into the well. This water, which is often saline and contaminated with heavy metals and other poisonous minerals, cannot be put back once it is taken out. It is usually stored in tailing ponds above ground, where they pose a danger to wildlife and may leak out and contaminate the local watershed. The alternative of pumping it into wells drilled in bedrock is no better, as our limited knowledge of hydrology in our province makes it likely that this water could find its way into underground streams and later into our rivers. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] The second source of water contamination comes from the toxic cocktail of sand and chemicals that’s injected into the ground at high pressure in order to fracture the coal seam and make the gas flow more easily. The composition of these compounds is considered a trade secret, but the mixture contains many substances that could contaminate vast quantities of water, even if the chemicals are only present in small amounts. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] The third major source of concern about our water quality comes in the form of methane migration. Not all the methane disrupted by mining activities is captured by the wells. Some of it finds its way into aquifers and rivers. There are several communities near coalbed methane developments where the residents can light their tap water on fire. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] All three of these water quality concerns are extremely grave. All of them pose serious questions about the continuing viability of wild salmon stocks in the Skeena, the Nass and the Stikine if coalbed methane development is allowed to deface the Sacred Headwaters area. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] Coalbed methane development most emphatically does not provide economic benefits in the long term to my constituents. Allowing this project into the Sacred Headwaters would create a short-term boost in employment which, while it would benefit local workers, would be short-lived. Once the wells are drilled, the roads are built and the methane is pumping out, the majority of the work on the site would be done by a small number of highly specialized Shell employees, who largely would not be based in the northwest or from the region. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] So in return for a long-term sustainable industry that has the advantage of preserving the quality of our environment and our drinking water, we would get a poison-filled project that would destroy our environment, pollute our drinking water and employ very few people in the long term. It isn’t difficult to see why my constituents are furious that they were not consulted about this project before Shell began drilling test wells and why they are adamant that this project not proceed any further. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] D. MacKay: I’d like to respond to the member for Skeena for his comments on the coalbed gas and the Sacred Headwaters, as it’s been commonly referred to. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] The entire province today is sacred. The province of British Columbia sustains over 4.5 million people, and every valley is sacred. There’s fresh water coming from the mountains, from the glaciers that are melting. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] After listening to the member for Skeena, I have to wonder if, in fact, he’s actually been up and had a look at the area known as the Klappan where Shell Oil is looking at drilling some holes to see if it’s economically viable to extract coalbed gas from those large coal seams that are in the ground. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

[1055]

Today the potential for coalbed gas is expected to exceed 80 times the natural gas that we’re drilling in the northeast part of our province. It’s a huge resource for the province of British Columbia. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] You know, living on this land base, we derive our livelihood from cutting down trees, from coalmining, from fishing, from agriculture and from extracting minerals and natural gas. We heat our homes with wood, propane, electricity and natural gas. Soon, I would expect, we’ll be looking at coalbed gas as the next source of heat for our homes. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] Science has moved us forward in leaps and bounds. When you stop and think that 1,500 years ago people actually thought the Earth was flat, some people actually thought…. When Columbus came out here, his people on the boat were getting ready to mutiny because they were afraid they were going to sail off the edge of the world. At one time people actually thought that the solar system revolved around planet Earth. Well, science has shown us otherwise over the years. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] We talk about the degradation. I’ve heard about the degradation for coalbed gas exploration, but in fact there has been no degradation from coalbed gas in British Columbia because we don’t have any commercialization of the product today in our province. We’re still looking and experimenting to see if in fact it’s economically viable to remove that gas from the coal seams. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] The coal seams. We talk about the escape of the methane gas. Well, for the most part with coal seams that are close to the surface of the land, we’ve already seen that what methane gas was contained within those seams has been released into the atmosphere, because they’re not under as great a pressure as the seams where the coalbed gas is expected to be found today. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] We expect that we’re going to find coalbed gas in seams that are one kilometre below the surface of the earth. Can you imagine the pressure under which that gas and the water contained in those coal seams is kept there? It’s tremendous. To say that we’re going to see degradation and that we’re going to see contamination of the water — that is bunk. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] Today in the province of British Columbia if you’re going to drill and see if in fact you can extract the gas from the coal seams, any water that is produced from those coal seams has to be reinjected well below any known aquifer. So we’ve added an extra burden on top for the coalbed gas people that want to look, first of all, to see if the gas can be removed and if there’s enough there to make it economical. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] We seem to be in this mindset that, because somebody has an idea, we’ve got to shut it down and that we should shut it down before everybody gets a chance to see whether or not we can do it. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] I would suggest that coalbed gas is our next source of heat for the province of British Columbia. This building down here, many homes in Vancouver and commercial buildings throughout our province are heated with gas. Coalbed gas is going to be the next source of heat. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] We heard the member talk about people turning on their taps and that you could light the gas coming out of their taps. That’s happening in Telkwa today because there’s a big coalfield there. There are lots of homes built on top of that, and some of the water that is coming up out of the seam into the homes in which these people live has got methane gas in it. You can actually light it today. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] To suggest that we’re going to contaminate the water, that we’re going to contaminate the air quality around the northwest part of our province, is bunk. If there’s not enough gas in the ground for Shell to make it economically viable, the project won’t proceed. If they can’t find a reservoir to reinject the water that may come up with the gas, if they can’t find a well or reservoir that will accept that water, the project will not proceed… [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] Mr. Speaker: Thank you, Member. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] D. MacKay: …because that’s a requirement of the environmental assessment process. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] R. Austin: Well, it comes as no surprise to me that the member for Bulkley Valley–Stikine seems to be a staunch proponent of coalbed methane extraction in the Sacred Headwaters. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] I’d like to, first of all, comment about his term that all of British Columbia is sacred. Indeed, all of British Columbia is a fantastic place to live. However, Sacred Headwaters refers to the term given to that territory by the Tahltan people, who have lived there off the land successfully for thousands of years prior to Europeans ever arriving on this continent. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

[1100]

So I think we should honour the term that’s given to this particular area. It’s sacred for a very special reason. It speaks to a connection of people who have lived closely with that land and recognizes that they are the stewards of that land in perpetuity. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] There has been a great deal of development take place in northwest B.C. One can only look at mining as an example and recognize that when there are economic activities or industrial projects that take place, it’s necessary, for the work to be done, to speak to the local people and get their support. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] In terms of the recent NovaGold–Teck Cominco mine, Galore Creek, which unfortunately has been temporarily been shut down, the owners of that mining project did the right thing. They went up and spoke to the Tahltan and showed them the benefits and the downsides of creating a mine of that size. They did a lot of work over two years, and eventually the people up there decided: “Yes, this is something that is worthwhile. This is an industrial project that we would like to give support to.” [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] They did the same kind of good work with the environmental community in this province, people who want to try and help create a balance between resource extraction and still keep something there for our children and grandchildren to take advantage of. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] But in terms of coalbed methane, this has not been done. People do not want it up there. They’ve spoken very, very clearly, just as they did in the Flathead region of British Columbia. Last year I had the privilege of meeting with members down in the East Kootenays, who had said that they vehemently did not want coalbed methane in the Flathead. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] My understanding is that the government has listened to them and, in fact, right now is not going to go ahead with any coalbed methane development in the Flathead. All I’m asking for is that we have the same done up in northwest B.C. as was done in the Flathead. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY] Finally, I just want to refer to the member for Bulkley Valley–Stikine saying that this hasn’t really caused any degradation in British Columbia. Everywhere that there has been coalbed methane extraction in the world thus far, there has been huge degradation to the environment and huge consequences. The technology does not exist to this day that makes this a safe type of resource extraction. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

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