While it is a good first step, the Premier’s promise of greater transparency related to fracking in BC does not address the serious economic, social and environmental impacts associated with the activity, said Independent MLA Bob Simpson.
In conjunction with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers commitment to protect their “social license” through more transparency and better use of water resources, Premier Clark announced yesterday that BC would report online where hydraulic fracturing is occurring in BC and what toxic chemicals the industry is using to extract the gas.
“Reporting out on this activity does not address concerns about the massive amounts of fresh water the industry uses to fracture BC’s shale beds, nor does it protect the public from the toxic chemicals the industry mixes with this water to get access to BC’s natural gas resource,” said Simpson. “Online transparency does not halt the huge amount of fresh water that is being turned into a toxic soup and forever removed from the water cycle in order to produce natural gas, a process that has been shown to be dirtier than coal.”
Early this year a coalition of citizen groups, First Nations, and the Northern Health Authority called on the provincial government to examine the serious health and safety concerns associated with oil and gas development in the Peace region. With support by Peace River North MLA Blair Lekstrom, the Premier committed a public inquiry to investigate these concerns. In response to the Premier’s announcement yesterday, Simpson pointed out that this promise to the communities in the Peace region has still not been fulfilled.
“Online reporting does not address questions about whether producing shale gas in a severely depressed market is the best use of this resource; it does not address the serious social concerns associated with a transient workforce and its impact on the communities of the Peace Region; and, it does not mitigate the negative environmental impacts of water use, the use of toxic chemicals, sweet and sour gas emissions and the overall impact of this industry on the earth’s climate,” said the Independent MLA.
Simpson is still calling on the Premier to convene a Special Committee of the Legislature to conduct a comprehensive inquiry to fully examine the economic, environmental and health and safety implications of unconventional gas extraction before further expansion is encouraged.
See also: http://bobsimpsonmla.ca/media-room/release/bcs-independent-mlas-call-premier-investigate-use-