bc2009

NTL: Does B.C.'s new power line fall short of being green?

Mark Hume
Globe and Mail
September 22, 2009

Accusations of 'greenwashing' are flying around the Northwest Transmission Line, but there's more to the project than meets the eye.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper came under attack from environmentalists last week following his announcement, in Washington, that Ottawa will provide $130-million from the Green Infrastructure Fund for a power line in northwestern British Columbia. Was the criticism justified? Or did Mr. Harper get unfairly attacked?

He was accused of "greenwashing" the Northwest Transmission Line, a $404-million project that will push power cables along the scenic Stewart-Cassiar Highway into a remote corner of the province that has some of the most beautiful landscapes in Canada.

The federal funding is conditional on a contribution from the B.C. government - which provincial Energy Minister Blair Lekstrom was quick to promise. B.C. hopes to raise $90-million in private-sector money (good luck with that), and that would leave the province on the hook for the remaining $184-million.

That's big money, and it's no wonder both Ottawa and Victoria are spinning this as a "green" project - hoping to win broad public support for what at first glance appears to be a power line meant to help a cluster of new mines open.

"This transmission line is anything but green," said Merran Smith, climate director with the non-profit ForestEthics.

"This transmission line is about electrifying coal and metal mines more than it is about clean, green energy," agreed Eric Swanson, a campaigner with the Dogwood Initiative, an environmental group with offices in Victoria.

Looking at where this transmission line will go, it's easy to see why environmentalists are upset. At 335 kilometres in length, it falls short of reaching the communities of Dease Lake and Telegraph Creek, which depend on dirty diesel generation. So there are no green benefits there.

But the line reaches deep into a region where 10 mines are proposed. Having access to relatively cheap, reliable hydro is expected to be a key factor in making these projects go.

Is a transmission line that powers mines, which might not otherwise be built, but which leaves towns dependent on diesel, really a green project? Obviously not. But there's more to the Northwest Transmission Line than the mines it could serve.

Also waiting for that transmission line to be built are seven wind and hydro generating stations, including one announced recently in which the Iskut Band Council will partner with Aski Enterprises Inc. to develop a 150,000-hectare wind farm.

And there has been lots of talk about linking the new transmission line to the Alaska power grid - which would allow the northern state to ship power through B.C. to rapidly growing markets in the Pacific Northwest.

A recent study identified 170,000 megawatts of undeveloped hydropower resources in the U.S. - and the single "largest available potential" was found in Alaska, where about 45,000 MW are awaiting development.

B.C.'s Northwest Transmission Line will encourage development of that Alaska hydropower, and it will also stimulate expansion of the state's transmission-line system, which will allow many isolated native communities to get off expensive diesel generation.

So the view from Alaska is very much that the new power line is a green project, as it is from Iskut, where the band council is excited about its huge wind-farm proposal.

It's clear both the mines and the renewable-power projects can only be built at some environmental cost, however.

The biggest concern has to be over the potential damage that could be done to rivers in a region that is one of greatest wild-salmon strongholds left in North America.

When all the factors are weighed, it seems fair enough for Mr. Harper to call the transmission line green because it will stimulate renewable power developments and get native communities (at least in Alaska) off dirty diesel generation.

It's just too bad he didn't go a step further for the planet, and provide extra funding to ensure that the mine and power developments are environmentally sensitive. Now that really would have been green.

Follow the money, not the trash pile, in solving waste management mess

Pete McMartin
Vancouver Sun
September 22, 2009

In Delta, where I live, we play host to the garbage of Vancouver, Richmond, south Surrey, White Rock and Richmond, not to mention our own.

Please, don't give it another thought. I know you don't.

That's the thing about garbage: out of sight, out of mind.

But I sometimes think that however convenient it might be for me to be able to truck my garden waste or old appliances a couple of miles down the street to the dump, it might also be instructive for the citizens of Vancouver or Richmond or south Surrey to start a dump in their own municipalities and live with that eye-watering smell of soiled baby diapers that so often emanates from the dump and wafts over the adjoining fields. There's no aroma quite like it. I wonder how the folks in Dunbar would like living next to that. It brings a whole new appreciation and sense of urgency to where we put our garbage.

The folks at Metro Vancouver, whose job it is to find places to put that garbage, have tried to solve that question of where to put our garbage for over a decade. To no avail.

Originally, with room running out at the Vancouver dump and the Cache Creek disposal site up-country, Metro Vancouver acquired the Ashcroft Ranch, six kilometres away from the Cache Creek site. It was private land.
When a local native band made known its intentions to challenge the establishment of a dump in court, the provincial government nixed the Ashcroft plan because it was afraid of what repercussions a successful court challenge to a fee-simple title might have elsewhere in the province.

Back to the drawing board. Encouraged by the province, Metro explored the idea of trucking the garbage out of province to Washington state. In this, it was only following the lead of several B.C. communities that already did so, including, notably, Whistler.

Then -- surprise! -- the province announced its intention in this year's budget to outlaw exporting of garbage. What unlucky, not to mention inexplicable, timing.

Trucking garbage out of province, however, was only intended as an interim solution. Metro Vancouver's long-term plan was its waste-to-energy proposal -- the construction of a half dozen incinerator plants in the Metro area that would generate electricity and heat local homes.

Despite years of exhaustive studies that found that, since 1997, incinerator technology had improved to the point that pollutant levels would be well below all international health tolerances, and that detrimental effects to ambient air quality downwind would be so negligible as to be barely detectable, and despite the fact that the technology was already widely used in Europe, and despite the fact that there was already a working waste-to-energy incinerator in Burnaby (which Metro Vancouver chief administrative officer Johnny Carline lives directly downwind of, incidentally), Metro Vancouver's campaign for the incinerators has been a hard sell.

The public, we are told, wants nothing to do with them.

How do we know this?

Well, a day before Metro Vancouver launched a series of public meetings on the waste-to-energy plan, an Angus Reid poll was released that found 65 per cent of respondents believed incineration would have a negative effect on air quality.

What a fortuitous act of public service that was. Of course, the poll was commissioned by Belkorp Environmental Services Inc., which owns a company called Wastech, which operates the Cache Creek landfill, to which Wastech desperately wants the province to approve a 40-hectare extension that would keep it open for decades to come.

Belkorp, by the way, can claim among its administration senior vice-president Gary Collins, the former Liberal finance minister. It also hired to lobby for the Cache Creek extension uber-lobbyist and former deputy minister to the premier Ken Dobell.

There are other players who want our garbage. Some local industries want to burn it. Fort St. John wants some action. In Gold River on Vancouver Island, Covanta Energy, the largest waste-to-energy company in the world, wants to build an incinerator to burn our garbage to produce, and sell, electricity. To do its lobbying for the Gold River plant, Covanta hired Andrew Wilkinson, former deputy minister and past president of the B.C.
Liberal party. Adding weight to Covanta's local position is its announcement in July of its intention to buy seven waste-to-energy facilities in North America from Veolia Environmental. Among those seven that Covanta is buying is the Burnaby incinerator.

Burned or buried, Metro Vancouver's garbage is going to be worth several tens of millions of dollars a year. Trash isn't the issue here. Cash is.

As for Metro Vancouver having any input in that, if history is any indication, I'd say it's already up in smoke.

pmcmartin@vancouversun.com or 604-605-2905

Source

COAL: Copper Mountain rejects Taseko bid

COMMENT: Copper Mountain Mining is a sister company of Compliance Energy, spun out of Compliance a few years ago, with what at the time seemed like a rather fanciful, stock-promoter's scheme to create market activity.

But, it looks like there may actually be minable copper at the site, and now Copper Mountain Mining is even the subject of takeover bids.

Compliance Energy, you will remember, is the proponent of the Raven Underground Coal Mining Project on Vancouver Island, and Jim O'Rourke heads up both companies.

You can't see it in the photo, but just down to the right is Highway 3, at the Princeton end of the Hope-Princeton and the old building from the previous copper operation at this site. It was that building that Compliance optioned to be the powerhouse for its coal-fired generation plant. Then the government killed the coal plant with its order that all carbon must be sequestered, and Compliance turned its option into an acquisition of the entire mine property. And here we are today.

Copper Mountain Mining Corporation's superpit (outlined in blue), located 15 kilometres southwest of Princeton. (Photograph by: Handout photo illustration, Vancouver Sun files)

By Marke Andrews
Vancouver Sun
September 17, 2009

VANCOUVER — Copper Mountain Mining Corp. has rejected an unsolicited, conditional share-exchange merger proposal by Taseko Mines Ltd. which would give Taseko control of Copper Mountain near Princeton.

In a statement, CMMC said the offer, made Tuesday, not only undervalues the company, it undermines its current financing. CMMC is currently raising $50 million in an equity offering for the Copper Mountain Project, a 7,300-hectare mine site south of Princeton, which CMMC claims to have five billion pounds of copper.

Jim O’Rourke, CEO of CMMC, said in a statement that Taseko “is currently taking action in an attempt to stop our equity offering. Their approach of interfering with the company’s financing could deprive our shareholders of substantial benefit that could result from the development program which is underway.

“The $50-million equity offering satisfies the company’s equity requirements for the Copper Mountain Project. We are taking all steps necessary to protect the company and our shareholders.”

The bid causes a flurry of trading Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Copper Mountain shares reached a one-year high of $1.97, while Taseko Mines shares jumped three per cent to $3.00.

mandrews@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

NTL: Northwest Transmission Line gets critical subsidy

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B.C. will build $404m power line now that Ottawa’s committed funding

Derrick Penner,
Vancouver Sun
September 17, 2009

Blair Lekstrom, B.C. minister of energy and mines. (Photograph by: CNS files)/b>

The province promised it will push ahead with construction of the $404-million transmission line through northwestern B.C. following Prime Minister Stephen Harper's announcement Wednesday that the federal government would cover up to $130 million of the cost.

Harper made the announcement during his visit to Washington, heralding the line as a step towards building "a more efficient electricity grid, [and] increasing our use of clean and renewable sources of energy generation."

Gavin Dirom, CEO of the Association for Mineral Exploration B.C., said the electricity provided by the line has the potential to unlock $15 billion in private investment for the region and thousands of jobs.

The funding, Harper said, would come out of the federal government's green infrastructure fund and serve as a possible first move in establishing a power link between Canada and Alaska.

Blair Lekstrom, provincial minister of energy and mines, said the federal government's $130-million promise was all B.C. has been waiting for to make a commitment to build the 335-kilometre, 287-kilovolt line, which will have the potential to serve several proposed mining projects in the region, one of which is edging towards approval for construction.

"We made a commitment to build the Northwest Transmission Line and we are going to to do that," Lekstrom said in an interview, "and this announcement ... allows us to move forward with that."

With the federal government funding commitment, the line's potential cost to the province is up to $274 million.

Lekstrom said his ministry is in discussion with possible private-sector partners in the project.

He said he couldn't name any at this point nor suggest how big their financial commitments would be, however Finance Minister Colin Hansen said there could be as much as $90 million in private-sector support for the line.

Initial plans to construct the northwest line collapsed when Teck Resources Ltd. shelved its plans to participate in construction of the Galore Creek mine in the region in conjunction with Vancouver company NovaGold.

That project was to contribute some $180 million to construction of the power line and plans were thrown into jeopardy without the contribution.

The line is proposed to stretch from Terrace to Meziadin Junction on Highway 37, then further north to the tiny community of Bob Quinn Lake, south of Dease Lake.

The B.C. Transmission Corp. is preparing an application for the project's environmental review. If that proceeds as planned, construction on the line could start in 2010 and the line could be in service by 2012.

Mining groups, independent power producers and industrial-development proponents applauded the federal commitment and provincial promise, though critics countered that the power line project will be anything but green.

Pierre Gratton, CEO of the Mining Association of B.C., said his group would like to see the power line stretched further, but that this will be a good step that boosts the potential for development.

"There's an estimated dozen or so [mining] projects that become much more viable with this line," he said in an interview.

Some of that investment may come from independent run-of-river power projects that could tap into the line, according to Harvey Campbell, chairman of the Independent Power Association.

"That wire coming in is going to open up potential on any number of fronts," Campbell said.

However, Tom Hackney, vice-president for policy of the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association, said there are more promising areas of the province for developing independent power projects than the northwest that are closer to big population centres.

Eric Swanson, corporate campaigner for the Dogwood Initiative, argued that the line will lead to a massive increase in energy consumption in Northern B.C. rather than tap new green energy sources.

"This transmission line is about electrifying coal and metal mines more than it is about clean, green energy," Swanson said in a news release.

depenner@vancouversun.com

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Harper pledges $130-million for northern B.C. power line

Justine Hunter
Globe and Mail
Sep. 16, 2009

Project could eventually connect with Alaska in bringing clean energy alternatives to communities and industry in the region (Getty Images)

The B.C. government is promising a new power transmission line will deliver an economic jolt for the province's remote northwest corner after the federal government pledged a share of the construction funds.

“We're going to build the Northwest Transmission Line,” said Blair Lekstrom, the province's minister of energy, mines and petroleum resources.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Wednesday that the project will be eligible for up to $130-million in green infrastructure funds as part of “Canada's commitment to clean energy.”

But the project still faces significant hurdles: An environmental assessment process has not been completed, a share of private-sector financing has not been secured, and it appears that the project needs the approval of the B.C. Utilities Commission.

Buoyed by the cash commitment from Ottawa, Mr. Lekstrom brushed those details aside, saying the environmental assessment can be turned around in 180 days: “It would be my hope we could see shovels in the ground as early as next year.”

The 335-kilometre line would extend B.C. Hydro service to sparsely populated communities along Highway 37 from Terrace, but mostly, the project is geared to stimulating economic activity along the corridor.

Proponents say the project would unlock investment in a string of potential new mines, while promoting clean energy by reducing reliance on diesel generators.

Environmentalists scoffed at the notion that the project is green. “This transmission line is about electrifying coal and metal mines more than it is about clean, green energy,” said Eric Swanson, a campaigner for the environmental group the Dogwood Initiative.

“If everyone is unemployed, I don't think the air they breathe is going to matter much,” Mr. Lekstrom retorted. “The key is finding a balance that works for everyone.”

The B.C. Mining Association and other business interests praised the announcement.

“This particular project is paramount to the province's development,” said John Winter, president of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce.

Pierre Gratton, head of the B.C. Mining Association, said the transmission line could stimulate up to $15-billion worth of investment in the coming decade.

“The northwest is being held back by a lack of access to power,” he said. “There are a dozen or so mining projects that, without access to power, are much more expensive to bring into operation. This makes them much more viable.”

The line will cost an estimated $404-million to build.

Finance Minister Colin Hansen said he expects to land $90-million in private sector financing now that Ottawa has stepped up, and the project would not increase the government's deficit because the remaining costs will be paid for by a self-sustaining Crown corporation, BC Hydro.

“It is great news for all of us and we can move ahead with all due haste,” he said. “This is going to open up a whole quarter of the province.”

John Horgan, the New Democratic Party critic for energy, isn't sure the financial plan stands up.

“There's no business plan, there's no private sector partner and there is no environmental approval,” Mr. Horgan said.

The project has been to the altar before.

Two years ago, the province put the proposal on hold after private sector financing fell apart. At one point B.C. had a $158-million commitment from Teck Resources Ltd. and NovaGold Resources Inc.

The two companies want to build Galore Creek, which would be Canada's biggest copper mine, and the transmission line is a key component. However, the project is stalled as the companies wrestle with total development costs at more than $5-billion.

Red Chris, a copper and gold mine proposed by Imperial Metals Corp., also would require the power line. Red Chris still faces a legal challenge from environmental groups.

Brian Kynoch, president of Imperial, said the government's investment will help his company raise the money to build the project.

The two mines would emit several hundred thousands tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, which scientists link to global warming.

But Mr. Lekstrom said the power line would also open up potential small green hydro projects as well as eliminate the need for diesel power in small towns in the region.

About 3,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent would be eliminated in two towns, home to several hundred people.

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Transmission line to power northwest B.C.

Clare Ogilvie
The Province
September 17, 2009

A transmission line in northwest B.C. will benefit mining projects, such as the Galore Creek copper-gold mine. (Photograph by: Handout, The Province)

Power to help residents, spur commercial run-of-river projects

B.C.'s Northwest is about to be electrified in a big way.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Wednesday the federal government would help fund a new 287-kilovolt line extending 335 kilometres from Terrace to Cranberry Junction and north to Bob Quinn Lake.

The $400-million line will provide access to the electricity grid for customers while supporting the economic diversification of the area, long an argument of supporters of the project.

It is also a step in connecting Alaskan and Canadian power grids as the U.S. and Canada move toward cleaner sources of energy.

"Our government is supporting environmentally-sound infrastructure and initiatives that promote cleaner, greener energy," said the prime minister.

"The Northwest Transmission Line (NTL) will facilitate the development of green energy and help provide British Columbia's northern and remote communities with more sustainable and affordable power."

The NTL will also open up commercial opportunity for the development of green power by way of run-of-river projects and help to reduce the reliance on diesel in communities that do not have electric power.

Currently, remote communities and mining operations rely on diesel fuel for energy. Once the NTL is in place, it is projected to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 208,000 tonnes of CO2 a year -- the equivalent of almost 35,000 cars.

According to the Mining Association of British Columbia, the NTL is also expected to bring $15 billion in economic investment to the area and create 10,700 jobs.

It will also allow more development, including mining.

"We think this is a terrific step in the right direction and we are pleased to see this federal support come in and we think it can be meaningful in terms of both the run-of-river green-power projects, but also mining projects like our own Galore Creek with Teck [Resources],"
said Greg Johnson, vice-president of strategic development for NovaGold Resources.

Residents in communities up and down Highway 37 were also pleased.

"It will set the stage for development because it removes uncertainly for billion of dollars of potential capital investment, thousands of potential jobs, and it is focused on an area that obviously needs it," said Prince George Mayor Dan Rogers.

Said Terrace Mayor Dave Pernarowski: "We just feel this type of infrastructure development is absolutely imperative for Northwest B.C.'s continued success."

Byng Giraud, general-secretary of the Highway 37 Powerline Coalition, has waited for more than a decade to see the NTL get funded.

"This means there will be power to places in the province that have never even had electricity and that lack of power has also prevented any kind of industry coming."

The funding will be a shared effort with up to $130 million coming from the federal government. The province has committed up to $250 million and another $10 million toward an environmental assessment and First Nations consultation.

"Today's announcement brings a new power line in northern B.C. one step closer to reality, which is excellent news for northern British Columbia and B.C.'s mining industry," said Pierre Gratton, president and CEO of the Mining Association of B.C.

clareogilvie@telus.net

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PROVINCIAL AND FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP TO ELECTRIFY THE NORTH

News Release, Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, 16-Sep-2009

VICTORIA – The Northwest Transmission Line will now go ahead with the announcement of $130 million committed by the Government of Canada through the Green Infrastructure Fund, announced Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.

“We are pleased that the federal government has recognized the importance of the Northwest Transmission Line and we are pushing ahead with the $404 million NTL that will open mining and energy opportunities in the northern part of the province,” said Lekstrom. “NTL will help communities in the region transition away from diesel generation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

This is an important step towards building a powerline that has the potential to generate billions of dollars in capital investment, create thousands of new jobs and open economic opportunities on a global scale in the Northwest.

The Province has already invested $10 million to support the environmental assessment and First Nations consultation process. The new 287-kilovolt line will extend 335 km from Terrace to Meziadin Junction and north to Bob Quinn Lake, providing access to the electricity grid for customers while supporting the economic diversification of the area.

The project could support the development of a number of new mines, take advantage of the vast mineral potential in that region and help realize the potential of the Prince Rupert Fairview Container Terminal. It will also support the development of clean, renewable electricity projects in the region. Expanding transmission along highway 37 could stimulate thousands of jobs and billions of dollars worth of economic activity for British Columbia.

B.C. is recognized as a clean energy powerhouse and this project will help British Columbia to reach its goal of curbing greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020.

-30-

Contact:
Jake Jacobs
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
250 952-0628
250 213-6934 (cell)

2009EMPR0013-000351

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COAL: Raven Coal Project on CBC

Arthur Caldicott on the Raven Coal Project
CBC_OnTheIsland_ArthurCaldicott_RavenCoalProject_20090915.mp3
CBC's Gregor Craigie interviews Arthur Caldicott about Compliance Energy's plan to start up the Raven Underground Coal Mine.
15-Sep-2009

John Tapics of Compliance Energy on Raven Coal Project
CBC_OnTheIsland_JohnTapics_ComplianceEnergy_20090914.mp3
CBC's Gregor Craigie interviews Compliance CEO about the company's plan to start up a new underground coal mine south of Courtenay.
14-Sep-2009

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Raven Underground Coal Project - New coal mine on Vancouver Island, 23-Aug-2009

Screaming coal prices and a new mine on Vancouver Island?, 01-Feb-2008

Will the environment be a vanishing interest for Campbell too?

Gary Mason
Globe and Mail
Sep. 08, 2009

At one time, it was Five Great Goals for a Golden Decade, an ambitious bit of target-setting that was going to make British Columbians global leaders in everything from literacy to healthy living.

But soon the handful of worthy objectives would be mostly forgotten as B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell diverted his attention towards establishing his province as a gateway to Asia-Pacific fortunes.

With time, however, that, too, would become a policy enthusiasm that waned on the Premier's interest meter, with little progress made to forge closer trade ties with economic powerhouses such as China and India.

Mr. Campbell had moved on to health care, and the search for novel ideas to streamline costs and find new ways to deliver service.

He launched a costly province-wide Conversation on Health.

When the travelling road show failed to produce much of anything in the way of cost-saving innovations, health care was dropped as his cause du jour.

More recently, Mr. Campbell rebranded himself as the Green Premier, widely hailed by environmentalists for being the first major political leader in the country to introduce a carbon tax.

Other measures designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions were applauded by everyone from David Suzuki to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But now many of those same people who once heaped praise on Mr. Campbell are wondering whether the environment is just another of his passing fancies.

Whether his call to arms on climate change is destined to become part of a political legacy increasingly littered with pet projects that go nowhere.

It's been just over two years since Mr. Campbell launched his campaign to combat rising greenhouse gas emissions.

Which is about the length of time the Premier has traditionally spent promoting a favourite cause before moving on to something else.

Fuelling fears the environment will soon join the Conversation on Health and other initiatives on the scrap heap of once great causes, have been recent cuts to programs and bodies considered to be at the core of the government's green agenda.

The Climate Action Secretariat, the body overseeing the government's many initiatives on the climate change front, has seen its budget reduced to $7-million from $20-million. Staff numbers have been cut too.

LiveSmart BC, a popular program that offered a range of cash incentives for homeowners who invested in energy-saving technology, was axed.

In its recent budget, the government introduced royalty changes to encourage unconventional gas development.

Many environmental organizations believe that one move alone will prevent the government from meeting its provincial greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

The government was also criticized for offering Harmonized Sales Tax exemptions for residential energy use that reduce the incentive for families to make their homes energy efficient.

Matt Horne, director of the B.C. Energy Solutions Program for The Pembina Institute, is worried the inroads Mr. Campbell made in the last two years will be lost unless there is a renewed focus on his part to forge ahead with efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions by building a greener economy.

“Climate change is a problem that is only going to be solved with an enduring willingness to make bold choices,” Mr. Horne said in an e-mail.

Environmental organizations are certainly a hard lot to please. Often, whatever governments do is never good enough.

The B.C. government's recent Speech from the Throne did indicate a continued commitment to developing alternative energy sources such as wind power. It announced a Green Energy Task Force will be formed to map out a plan to maximize the province's clean power potential.

Still, you can't help get the feeling that Mr. Campbell, while still ideologically dedicated to the climate change fight, has lost some of the fire he once had for the issue.

We'll know soon enough if the flame goes out completely and the environment becomes another of the Premier's vanishing interests.

BOMB: Climate of fear grips gas country

By Hanneke Brooymans
Edmonton Journal
September 7, 2009

Farmers remain on edge 11 months into enCana bombings in northeastern B.C.

Above, Regina Mortensen and her husband, Alf, look out of the window of their farmhouse onto their property, which is encircled by wells and compressor stations. Although the couple have allowed energy development on their lands, the fact that their property is situated in a dip in the landscape leaves them nervous that heavy hydrogen sulphide would accumulate in the event of a leak. (Photograph by: Photos By Ed Kaiser, The Journal, Edmonton Journal)

It is early evening in Tomslake and the rural roads are eerily quiet.

This corner of northeastern British Columbia is no longer the place to go for an idle drive, even on one of summer's last beautiful days. As tension ratchets up around the 11-month search for the EnCana bomber, chances are a watchful, nervous neighbour will call the RCMP.

"You don't just hop in your truck and drive around anymore," says one local farmer. He hasn't driven certain roads for months now, because he doesn't want people second-guessing why he is there. Nevertheless, he feels strongly enough about the burgeoning gas development to take a reporter and photographer on a short tour to point out the many drilling rigs, flares and compressor stations in his area.

The farmer is too nervous to have his name published, for fear of becoming the target of RCMP interrogations, harassment and phone tapping. This is what happens to anyone who openly criticizes the oilpatch in the area, he says, a view echoed by others in the area.

The wish to avoid police attention has made residents reluctant to talk, even to each other, about the bomber or development issues for fear their views might be misconstrued.

At the Dawson Creek RCMP detachment, Staff Sgt. Stephen Grant is conscious of those concerns, but he won't comment further on the chilling effect the incidents and the resulting investigation are having on the community.

The RCMP, along with the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, have thrown considerable resources at the hunt for the perpetrator-- or perpetrators--of the six explosions on EnCana pipelines.

Grant says they've had more than 250 staff working on the case over the last 11 months, as many as 40 or 50 at certain points in time. About 1,000 interviews have been conducted, he adds.

Last week, the Dawson Creek detachment set up a new rural unit in Tomslake, 28 kilometres to the south. Part of the mandate of the four officers in the new unit is to ease the security fears of people in the area.

But residents say they won't relax until the bomber is caught.

Not even the bomber's most recent letter--promising a three-month vacation from attacks to give EnCana time to announce a withdrawal from the area--has provided any relief.

In the mid-July letter, the bomber said the reprieve was to "give the people here room during these three months to talk about these problems unmolested by any further interrogations and/or investigations so that they can speak their minds without reprisal."

As it turns out, the opposite is happening.

Surrounded on three sides by gas sites, Alf and Regina Mortensen would have a difficult time getting out of the low-lying area where their home sits if there was ever a gas leak. (Photograph by: Ed Kaiser, The Journal, Edmonton Journal)

Many people approached by The Journal declined to say anything at all about development in the area and about the bomber. Others would only speak on the condition of anonymity. Only a few were unbowed by the climate of suspicion and fear.

"A lot of people like to stay off the topic," acknowledges Renate Green, who lives on a farm gifted to her by her father.

But Renate and her husband Ed speak frankly about the issues they've had with the rapid pace of development all around them. They've kept development off their own land, but that didn't stop the oil companies from planting wells in the land all around them.

An entourage of service trucks followed. They were, Ed said, "like a train, steady, one after another, one going in, another going out."

The trucks ran early. They ran late. For a while, both Ed and Renate were severely sleep deprived.

Fine particles of dirt were kicked up over the landscape in their wake. "At one point, I could see our house enveloped in a cloud of dust."

More worrisome were the five episodes of "funny odours" in the air. The first time, Ed felt so nauseous he had to drive away from his home. He complained about the sour gas exposures, just as he reported all their other concerns to the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission.

"I probably have a complaints sheet there a mile long," Ed said.

The industry improved its operations after all his "squawking," he said.

Others in the area agree that both EnCana and Murphy Oil, by far the two biggest operators, are responsive to residents' concerns.

Crystal Lardner points to the stupendous view that rolls down from a hilltop over a hay field and out over woodlots to the next ridge, about four kilometres away. Her sister, who owns the land, managed to convince the company not to build a road through the middle of the field and the woodlot. Instead, the road was built out of view, connecting to the well pad built in the corner of a section.

Though Lardner doesn't like the damage the gas companies' fleets do to the local roads and she doesn't welcome the Olympic-sized flames that flare up on the skyline --sometimes as many as five at a time--she understands how it has come to be.

Says Lardner: "If farmers were paid adequately for their cattle and hay, they wouldn't have to say OK to oil and gas."

Illustrating the point, Tony Schwertner Sr. points to the compressor station built about 800 metres downhill from the family home. It earns more money for him than he and his sons can make off farming.

In fact, the three of them make their money primarily in Fort Mc-Murray's construction trade. And though Schwertner said he misses the "peaceful place" the area was before development ramped up, now that it's here and not going away, he'd welcome more development on his land.

And then there are the Mortensens. She is 76, he is 80, and their farmhouse is encircled by wells and compressor stations as little as 500 metres away. They are another example of the pragmatism forced onto farmers in the area.

"If we wouldn't have let them on our land, they would have gone on our neighbour's land," says Regina.

It's a simple math: all the inconvenience and none of the money.

A flare burns at a well and compressor site in the early evening in the Tomslake area. (Photograph by: Ed Kaiser, The Journal, Edmonton Journal)

Though the Mortensens value the cash that comes with the industrial development, she and her husband, Alf, do worry that their home sits in a dip in the landscape. Hydrogen sulphide is heavier than air and will flow down into depressions.

This spring, when Alf smelled "a stink in the air" from inside the house in the middle of the night, he called the Oil and Gas Commission right away. The commission and En-Cana were out immediately.

The commission can see that the growth in the area means they have to increase their local presence, said spokesman Steve Simons. They have an office ready and equipped in Dawson Creek, although staffing it has taken longer than originally expected, due to the recession and budget cuts. Still, a simple phone call to a number in Fort St. John will get someone 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he said.

The commission holds community meetings in the area and is doing a better job of educating the public that they can come to them with concerns, he added.

As for EnCana, it has posted a$1-million reward for information that leads to the arrest of the bomber, and there is certainly no talk of it leaving. The company has about 200 wells in the area now, as well as gathering lines, collection pipelines and compressor stations.

"We plan to continue to develop the resource there in a long-term manner on an ongoing basis, drilling a number of wells each year," says company spokesman Alan Boras.

Any time there is development and the need to share a land base, there will be varying viewpoints on the best way to do that, Boras says. For the most part, EnCana has found common ground with those in the area.

For example, he says, the company has about 200 surface lease agreements in the Dawson Creek area and only two went to an arbitration board.

But the wary farmer, the one who doesn't want to be named, says most people have no faith in the arbitration board and think it's a waste of time. He says a proper, independent assessment of all the risks involved in expanding industry in the area should have been done before expansion got going.

He worries about the flares, as do many area residents, and wants to know in more detail what chemicals they're releasing, and in what volumes. What, he wonders, are the implications for the health of residents in the area?

He says that it's not that he is against industry. He just wants it done properly.

But in the hamlet of Tomslake, where the bombings have temporarily stopped, but the fear and paranoia still run high, that's a discussion that is just not happening anymore.

"If you have any concerns," he says, "you're automatically anti-industry. There is no middle ground for thoughtful improvement of the way this development is occurring."

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

GATEWAY: Haida Nation says no way to oil tanker traffic

Alex Rinfret
Queen Charlotte Island Observer
September 2, 2009

Plans by a Calgary company to pipe crude oil to Kitimat, allowing it to be shipped through north coast waters, are "ludicrous" and "unbelievable", and will never be allowed to happen, says Haida Nation president Guujaaw.

Speaking to two top executives from Enbridge Inc. at a public gathering in Skidegate Friday (Aug. 28), Guujaaw said the project would put the entire Haida way of life at risk for nothing more than the chance for investors and company officials to make money.

Guujaaw said islanders learned first-hand from Prince William Sound people who visited Haida Gwaii earlier this year what happens when an oil spill contaminates the ocean and coastline.

"Those people lost their traditional ways, lost their access to food," he said, following the crash of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker in 1989, the effects of which are still being felt.

Guujaaw said no one should believe company promises that an oil spill would be immediately contained and that compensation would be paid for any environmental damage.

The Alaskan people are still waiting for compensation, he said. And it would be impossible to move fast enough to contain a spill in the isolated and storm-prone north coast waters.

Guujaaw said the two executives who traveled to Skidegate to hear from the Haida, Enbridge president Pat Daniel and Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines president John Carruthers, seem like nice guys, but they are also "monsters" whose goal is to get the pipeline built and make money, no matter how that could affect the future of the Haida Nation.

"It is unbelievable what these people will calmly get up here and propose to us," he told the audience of elders, chiefs and other islanders. "They themselves would risk nothing in doing this, they have nothing to lose."
Guujaaw called the Alberta tar sands, where the oil would be coming from, "one of the biggest unnatural disasters going on in the world right now," and said it's "crazy. a goofy idea" to ship oil from Alberta to southeast Asia at the same time that Canada is importing oil.

He ended by telling Mr. Carruthers and Mr. Daniel that the Haida Nation will not put its land and waters at risk for this project or anything else.

"I'm not going to say we'll be affected, because there is no damn way this is going to happen," he said.

Mr. Daniel, who according to the Financial Post took home compensation of $6.5-million last year, and Mr. Carruthers started the gathering with a brief explanation of the pipeline project. They said they had come to Haida Gwaii because of the Living Oceans Society, which had urged them to listen to the people who would be directly affected by north coast tanker traffic.

Mr. Daniel said Enbridge is in the oil delivery business. The company operates crude oil pipelines and natural gas pipelines, including the longest oil pipeline in the world. The reason Enbridge wants to build a pipeline from Edmonton to Kitimat is that it would allow Alberta oil producers to sell to a whole new market in Southeast Asia, rather than being limited to the United States.

Mr. Carruthers said the project would see 14 tanks built beside Kitimat's deep harbour to store crude oil. Tankers would load the oil then take it to the Southeast Asia or anywhere else the producers could sell it.

"We envision 225 tankers coming in each year," he said. These vessels would be various sizes, ranging from cruise ship size to supertanker.

The project must undergo two public regulatory processes before it goes ahead, one through the National Energy Board, and one through the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

"We will make sure this is as safe a project as you can get," Mr. Carruthers said. "We need to make sure the project is safe and that people benefit."
But elder after elder told the two men that there is no way anyone could guarantee that hundreds of tankers loaded with crude oil would never have an accident, and that just one spill could end all traditional food gathering on Haida Gwaii.

"What we're talking about today doesn't feel good inside," said Diane Brown. "To lose our food source is not an option, you can't pay us anything to get that back. As a grandmother and a woman of the nation, I can promise you that I will do everything in my power not to see this go through."

Reynold Russ, Chief Iljuwaas, said he heard many people speak against the pipeline project when he was at the elders gathering in Terrace this summer. The people from Prince William Sound were also promised that there would be no oil spills, he said.

"It was supposed to be accident-free and yet how many tons of crude oil was dumped?" he said, adding that the Enbridge officials should have visited the islands to hear the opposition before they ever proposed this project.

"Haida Gwaii is our island, our land, we own it, lock stock and barrel," Chief Iljuwaas said. "We don't want money."

GATEWAY: B.C. natives object to pipeline project

Mark Hume
Globe and Mail
Sep. 01, 2009

Haisla First Nation objects to plan for twin pipeline system Edmonton to Kitimat

An Indian band on the British Columbia coast has raised concerns about a proposed new northern pipeline and tanker port that is now under federal review.

In a letter to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and Enbridge Inc., the Haisla First Nation expresses objections to the plan for a new twin pipeline system from near Edmonton to a marine terminal in Kitimat.

The proposed project, being jointly proposed by Enbridge Inc. and Enbridge Northern Gateway Project, would export petroleum from and import condensate to the oil fields in northern Alberta.

“The potential impacts of oil spills associated with the proposed project are of significant concern,” said the letter sent by Dolores Pollard, chief councillor of the Haisla Nation.

The letter was released on Tuesday.

Ms. Pollard said the Haisla have not been meaningfully engaged by the government in the review process and have concerns “with respect to Enbridge's ability to safeguard the environment.”

Ms. Pollard said the the native organization “will take every necessary step, including resort to the courts, to continue the protection of our people and our rights.”

Comments on the project from Donovan & Co. on behalf of Haisla Nation, 24-Aug-2009

Northern Gateway Pipeline Project
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/details-eng.cfm?CEAR_ID=21799