Friends of the Lubicon
PO Box 444 Stn D,
Etobicoke ON M9A 4X4
Tel: (416) 763-7500
Email: fol (at) tao (dot) ca
www.lubicon.ca
April 8, 2005
Attached is a March 28, 2005 newspaper article on the drilling of a gas well directly under a lake that provides drinking water to the residents of the northeastern Alberta community of Bonnyville. It provides some insight into the nature of regulation of the gas and oil industry in the province of Alberta.
Horrified to learn after the fact that the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) had granted Paramount Energy Trust a licence to drill a gas well directly under the lake that provides their drinking water, the residents of Bonnyville protested the granting of the licence. The article says that the EUB "studied an application to have the drilling licence reviewed...but...in a decision issued last week, the Board said the licence to drill would stand".
Clearly setting out the priorities of the agency set up by the Alberta government to supposedly regulate the gas and oil industry in Alberta, the EUB decision says:
"Underlying almost all of the written and oral objections (of the residents of Bonnyville) was the view that the residents were not prepared to accept any risk, no matter how small, to the well-being of Moose Lake because of its importance as a source of drinking water and recreational activities. While the Board acknowledges this sincerely held position, it must weigh the benefits of oil and gas development in the public interest of all Albertans with the potential impacts to the residents and environment in the area".
Denis Ducharme, the provincial member of the Legislative Assembly representing the area and a member of the ruling Conservative Party, acknowledges that the company "likely knew all along that Moose Lake is a water supply for the town". He said "I would think that they did know, but I don't condemn them at this point".
Mr. Ducharme said "They (Paramount Energy) have been good". "Although they had already been granted a licence by the EUB", he said, "the company came in and had a meeting with the community". He said "They've participated in three meetings and I congratulate them for having been there with the EUB to provide more information".
"No rules were broken", Mr. Ducharme continued -- sounding more like a public relations spokesman for Paramount Energy than the political representative of the understandably distressed residents of the area -- "and nobody is claiming that Paramount Energy Trust of Calgary tried to sneak anything past the residents".
Mr. Ducharme identifies the problem as "a weakness in the rules for applying for a licence to drill" rather than as a total and complete disregard for public health in favor of the interests of the gas and oil industry. He said "A small notice goes out in the newspaper, and it describes the site with a legal land description". He said "Common sense says that's just not sufficient, especially when the legal land description is part of a lake".
Mr. Ducharme said that he has "relayed his concerns with the rules directly to Alberta Energy Minister Greg Melchin". "It's certainly something that I have advocated to the Minister of Energy", Mr. Ducharme said, "that there certainly should be some changes to procedure so there's better advertising of these projects".
Mr. Ducharme said "The concern is it's a lake". He said "Who is going to know the legal land description for part of a lake".
That's of course true. But as Mr. Ducharme bent over backwards trying to defend the company for proceeding with a gas well under a lake that provides drinking water to a community of Mr. Ducharme's constituents without properly notifying and consulting the members of that community, and as he bent over backwards trying to excuse the fact that the agency set up by the provincial government to supposedly regulate the gas and oil industry in Alberta granted Paramount Energy a licence to drill a gas well under a lake that provides drinking water to a community of Mr. Ducharme's constituents without properly notifying or consulting the members of that community, Mr. Ducharme strangely seems to have totally missed the point that the EUB has now reaffirmed the licence to drill a gas well directly under a lake that provides drinking water to a community of his constituents.
To paraphrase Lenny Bruce's quote about the forces of good and evil in Chicago: In most places there's continual tension between the public and private sectors, in Alberta it's nice, they all get along and you can't tell the difference.
* * * * * * *
March 28, 2005
Edmonton Sun
MLA wants clearer drilling notification
Legal land descriptions can be difficult to fathom
By David Sands
Staff Writer
"Common sense" changes are needed in rules for gas well drilling in Alberta, says a Tory MLA.
Denis Ducharme's constituents in Bonnyville, 241 km northeast of Edmonton, earlier this year grasped the fact that a license had been granted to drill for gas directly under a lake that provides them with drinking water. And that was only after one alert resident tipped them off.
"Once the community became aware of it, through one concerned citizen who wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper, another meeting was requested. Although they had already been granted a license by the EUB (Alberta Energy and Utilities Board) the company came in and had a meeting with the community," Ducharme said.
No rules were broken, and nobody is claiming Paramount Energy Trust of Calgary tried to sneak anything past residents, Ducharme said. But the situation only underlines the weakness he sees in the rules for applying for a license to drill.
"A small notice goes out in the newspaper, and it describes the site with a legal land description. Common sense says that's just not sufficient, especially when the legal land description is part of a lake."
Ducharme said the town itself was initially unaware of the plan for drilling under its water supply, which lies outside its municipal boundaries.
After complaints, the energy board studies an application to have the drilling license reviewed, said board spokesman Bob Curran.
In a decision issued last week, the board said the license to drill would stand.
"Underlying almost all the written and oral objections was the view that the residents were not prepared to accept any risk, no matter how small, to the well-being of Moose Lake because of its importance as a source of drinking water and recreational activities," the EUB's report states.
"While the board acknowledges this sincerely held position, it must weigh the benefits of oil and gas development in the public interest of all Albertans with the potential impacts to the residents and environment in the area..."
However, Ducharme noted, the report also highlights residents' concerns over the notification process.
"...The community's expectation is that applicants, in some circumstances, would move beyond the minimum requirements to afford the community an opportunity to address its concerns in a comprehensive way."
Paramount, which did not return phone calls from the Sun, likely knew all along that Moose Lake is a water supply for the town, Ducharme said, especially since it already has a vertical well nearby, the same site from which it plans to drill horizontally under the lake.
"I would think they did know, but I don't condemn them at this point in time," he said. "They've been good. They've participated in three meetings and I congratulate them for having been there with the EUB to provide more information."
Nonetheless, Ducharme has relayed his concerns with the rules directly to Alberta Energy Minister Greg Melchin. "It's certainly something that I have advocated to the minister of energy, that there certainly should be some changes to procedures so there's better advertising of these projects. The concern is it's a lake. Who is going to know the legal land description for part of a lake?"
fol-request at masses.tao.ca