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NO BIDS in Crowsnest Coalfield auction
August 26, 2004
The two blocks of drilling rights in the Crowsnest Coalfield which have been the
subject of so much concern by British Columbians and Montanians attracted no
bids in the auction which closed on August 25.
Coalition news release ...
Industry Declines to Bid on Rights ...
B.C.'s coal gas may never be extracted
August 9, 2004
VANCOUVER - Development of British Columbia's extensive coalbed methane resource
is many years in the future, and may never happen, analysts say.
John Greenwood, National Post ... article
Shell starts gas search in Klappan Coalfield
August 5, 2004
One of the world’s largest energy companies is heading north of Terrace to
look for natural gas. Shell has an eight-year exclusive deal, signed this past week, with the
province to explore for coal bed methane under 412,000ha of land commonly known
as the Klappan area.
Rod Link, Terrace Standard ... article
Okanagan-Similkameen calls for impact assessment
July 30, 2004
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen joins other
communities faced with coalbed methane development, in a call for an
environmental impact assessment.
Regional District of Okanagan-Simikameen ... letter
Gov. Martz writes to Ottawa
July 26, 2004
Montana Governor Martz follows her letter to BC Premier Gordon Campbell of
July 19 (link)
with a letter to the federal government. In it she asks that
- the August 25 auction of rights in the Crowsnest/Flathead be deferred
- complete environmental baseline be established
- comprehensive assessment be completed
Governor Martz' letter ... letter
BC gov't public claims contradicted by leaked internal report
June 19, 2004
FERNIE- An internal British Columbia government report starkly contradicts
Ministry of Energy representations to Montana officials concerning ransboundary
waters into which B.C. may drain wastewater from coalbed methane wells.
Citizens Concerned about Coalbed Methane ... news release
Flathead leaders say energy plan needs study
June 16, 2004
The Kalispell Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution requesting the CBM plans
be shelved until an international environmental assessment is completed. The resolution echoes resolutions
passed by the city of Fernie, British Columbia, and Montana's Flathead Basin Commission.
Michael Jamison, The Missoulian ... article
BC Government escalates campaign against East Kootenay communities
June 15, 2004
After two weeks of intense activity in Fernie and other East Kootenay communities, the BC Government has now
opened "Coalbed Gas Information Offices" in Fernie, Sparwood and Elkford. The government is pushing an agenda
that is clearly against the wishes of the communities involved, and unable to defuse concerns that coalbed
methane development will devastate the environment and put local watersheds and rivers in peril. Coalbed
methane development will sabotage the emerging and much greater potential of the area to become a resort
destination, attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in high-employment, low eco-impact investment.
Information Office notice
MEM Q&A spin document
Flathead Coalition applauds no mines, coalbed methane still a concern
May 28, 2004
Flathead Coalition cheers demise of Flathead coal mine plans but still wary of
planned coalbed methane drilling. ...
more
Neufeld on Flathead: no coal mines but coalbed methane is a go
May 28, 2004
There will be no coal mining in the Flathead River watershed, but there is no
change to the government's unpopular and aggressive agenda to develop coalbed
methane in the area. Energy & Mines Minister Richard Neufeld made this surprise
announcement in Fernie on Friday, May28 ...
more
Energy Minister schedules private meeting with Fernie council
May 26, 2004
Minister of Energy Richard Neufeld, his deputies, and Derek Doyle, the Commissioner for Oil and Gas development,
will meet privately with selected officials and citizens from Fernie, Sparwood and Elkford on Thursday evening,
May 27, and Friday morning.
... more
Martz weighs in on Canadian coal mines
Premier Campbell says tell someone who cares
May 20, 2004
Gov. Judy Martz added her name to a growing list of Montana voices concerned
about the potential for a coal mine and coal bed methane development in the
Canadian Flathead. The province's plan is to develop coal bed methane there,
polite letters or not, says spokesperson for Premier Gordon Campbell.
Chris Peterson, Hungry Horse News, Columbia Falls, MT ... article
B.C. has CBM potential, but still in test stage
May 13, 2004
If all goes according to Petrobank's plan (and fresh water does not get in
the way) coalbed methane development in the Princeton Coalfield of south central
British Columbia will begin operations next February.
Nickle's Oil Bulletin ... article
Flathead Commission regroups to fight mine
May 12, 2004
"It looks like our community will need to come together with one voice again to
insist that our clean water, wildlife, the North Fork, and Glacier National Park
are not impacted by ill-advised industrial energy development in Canada," Dick
Kuhl, current president of the Flathead Coalition, said.
Michael Jamison, The Missoulian ... article
Call for CBM halt in BC comes from U.S.A.
May 4, 2004
Proposals for coal and coalbed methane development in the Flathead River
watershed in south eastern British Columbia, are resulting in calls for a halt
from Montana.
In a resolution passed Monday, the Montana Flathead Basin Commission
requested "the British Columbia government to immediately defer any action on
coal bed methane and coal mining proposals until completion of a comprehensive
assessment by the International Joint Commission."
Arthur Caldicott, Dogwood Initiative ... bulletin
Jim Robbins, New York Times ... article
Michael Jamison, The Missoulian ... article
Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun ... article
Mark Hume, Globe and Mail ... article
Grady Semmens, CanWest News Service ... article
Safety of gas search questioned in Campbell River
Apr 2, 2004
Caldicott spoke to approximately 25 people at a public meeting organized by the
Campbell River Environmental Committee held in the Campbell River Community
Centre Tuesday. The committee is concerned about a proposal by Hillsborough
Resources - parent company of Quinsam Coal - to explore for coalbed methane in
the Campbell River area in a joint project with Texas Canadian Ventures
Alistair Taylor, Campbell River Mirror ... article
Coalbed methane raises concern in Princeton
Mar 23, 2004
Coalbed methane extraction was the topic of an information session hosted by
Vermilion Forks Field Naturalists. Approximately 40 people gathered at the
Skills Centre in Princeton to learn about the method of extraction and possible
problem areas. Guest speaker was Arthur Caldicott of Dogwood Initiative.
Dawn Johnson, Similkameen News Leader ... article
Fernie calls for coalbed methane halt
Mar 17, 2004
FERNIE: On Tuesday, March 16, the City Council in Fernie sponsored a well-attended "Town Hall"
Meeting to discuss coalbed methane. On Wednesday, Fernie Council passed, unanimously, the following
resolution:
Be it resolved that the government of British Columbia defer any auction
of Coalbed methane tenures for the Crowsnest Coalfield until completion of a
comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts of large-scale gas exploration
and production on the environment, economy and human community of the Elk
Valley.
Arthur Caldicott, Dogwood Initiative ... bulletin
Fernie confronts giant coalbed methane scheme
Mar 9, 2004
An auction of tenure rights now underway is the first step in the
government's declared intention to convert the wilderness forestlands above the
entire Crowsnest coal deposit into a vast coalbed methane gas field, consisting
of thousands of closely spaced wells and extending across the breadth of the BC
Rocky Mountains.
Two of the three blocks whose gas rights are currently up for auction are
covered by a 10-year development moratorium announced in January by the land
owner, Tembec, and The Nature Conservancy of Canada. Town hall meeting on March
16, 7 pm, Fernie Community Centre.
Casey Brennan, East Kootenay Environmental Society ... news release
Map of parcels posted for auction, Ministry of Energy & Mines ... PDF (4 MB)
CBM water case stands, lawyer says
Oct 21, 2003
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review an appeals court ruling that water
released during coalbed methane development is a pollutant under the federal
Clean Water Act, an attorney said Monday.
The decision is "very significant because it establishes, now and for all
time, that coalbed methane water is a pollutant and subject to regulation," said
Jack Tuholske, an attorney for the Northern Plains Resource Council.
Becky Bohrer, Billings Gazette ... article
9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Northern Plains Resource Council vs Fidelity Exploration ... summary,
full decision
State sued over coalbed methane development plan
Oct 8, 2003
The Northern Plains Resource Council is suing three state
agencies, saying that a statewide plan for developing coalbed methane permits
allows the wasting of huge amounts of groundwater and doesn’t do enough to
offset potential environmental effects.
Becky Bohrer, Ravalli Republic ... article
The Coming Gas Explosion in the West
Nov 4, 2003 (published May 14, 2003)
We once ran 600 cows on those 35,000 acres. Today, we can barely keep 100
cows. Grass and shrubs are now roads, drill pads or scars left by pipeline
paths. We have trouble keeping our few cows alive because they get run over by
trucks servicing wells each day, or they get poisoned when they lap up the sweet
anti-freeze leaking out of unfenced compressor engines.
Tweeti Blancett, Tidepool ... article
Bill 75, the Significant Projects Streamlining Act
Nov 4, 2003
On Monday, November 3, the BC government introduced Bill 75, the Significant Projects Streamlining Act,
the latest in Liberal deregulation. "Where previous efforts snipped through red tape one strand at a
time, the Significant Projects Streamlining Act takes more of a meat-axe approach." says Vaughn Palmer.
This anti-democratic act will allow the Premier or cabinet to designate a project as "provincially
significant" and expedite its approval.
Along with the Environmental Assessment Act,
the Right to (Fish) Farm Act, and the Working Forest legislation, major project decision making
will move
comprehensively out of regulatory and review processes, out of the Legislature, and into the Premier's
office. Bill 75 is accompanied by an order-in-council appointing Jessica McDonald as Deputy Minister
for Special Projects, in the Premier's Office, anticipating busy times ahead for Bill 75.
Joy MacPhail's examination of the bill in the Legislature is comprehensive and frightening. Paul Willcocks
calls it the "Making the Premier King Act"
Bill 75 - Significant Projects Streamlining Act ... Bill 75
Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun, Nov 4, 2003 ... column
Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun, Nov 7, 2003 ... column
Paul Willcocks, Cowichan News Leader Pictoria, Nov 9, 2003 ... column
West Coast Environmental Law comment, Nov 6, 2003 ... backgrounder
BC Building Trades Council comment, Nov 4, 2003 ... news release
Joy MacPhail in the Legislature, Nov 6, 2003 ... Hansard
Order-in-Council 1038 appointing Deputy Minister, Nov 3, 2003 ... OIC 1038
Halliburton, Again
Oct 29, 2003
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING is not an activity with which most people are familiar, but
those in the oil and gas business know it well. In use for the past 50 years,
hydraulic fracturing involves the injection of diesel fuel, hydrochloric acid,
water, sand or other substances into the ground, in order to facilitate the
extraction of oil or natural gas ... and coalbed methane ...
Editorial, The Washington Post ...editorial
Dan Morgan, The Washington Post, Oct 12, 2003 ...article
Presentations to Regional District of Comox-Strathcona, October 29
by
Trevor Jones and
Arthur Caldicott
Wyoming Checks Mines for West Nile Source
Oct 28, 2003
MISSOULA, Mont. — An outbreak of West Nile virus in northeastern Wyoming has
scientists and some residents wondering if an unconventional approach to natural
gas extraction is increasing the risk of the disease. The treeless prairie of the
Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming is dotted with thousands of wells for
extracting methane ...
Jim Robbins, New York Times ...pdf
The Comox Strathcona Regional District resolution ...resolution
Drilling for tax credits
Oct 25, 2003
Runaway coalbed methane development doesn't need a tax breakFor more
than a decade, no form of energy production in the United States
has been
developed more quickly, or more recklessly, than natural gas found
in coal
seams, typically called coalbed methane ...
Public Citizen ...pdf
CBM water case stands, lawyer says
Oct 21, 2003
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review an appeals court ruling that water
released during coalbed methane development is a pollutant under the federal
Clean Water Act, an attorney said Monday.
The decision is "very significant because it establishes, now and for all
time, that coalbed methane water is a pollutant and subject to regulation," said
Jack Tuholske, an attorney for the Northern Plains Resource Council.
Becky Bohrer, Billings Gazette ... article
9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Northern Plains Resource Council vs Fidelity Exploration ... summary,
full decision
State sued over coalbed methane development plan
Oct 8, 2003
The Northern Plains Resource Council is suing three state
agencies, saying that a statewide plan for developing coalbed methane permits
allows the wasting of huge amounts of groundwater and doesn’t do enough to
offset potential environmental effects.
Becky Bohrer, Ravalli Republic ... article
UBCM approves resolution to halt coalbed methane activity
Sep 27, 2003
Delegates to the Union of BC Municipalities approved a resolution calling for a halt to all coalbed methane activity
in the province until adequate consultation has taken place, environmental protections have been implemented, and
baseline studies have been undertaken. The Comox-Strathcona Regional District resolution received support from
delegates from a number of areas with coalbed methane activity proposals...
Comments by a delegate to UBCM ...text
file
The Comox Strathcona Regional District resolution ...resolution
Resolution seeks halt to coalbed methane activity
Jun 30, 2003
The Comox Strathcona Regional District passed a resolution that they will bring to the Union of BC Municipalities
(UBCM) convention in Vancouver in September. It calls for a halt to all coalbed methane activity in the province
until adequate consultation has taken place, environmental protections have been implemented, and baseline studies
have been undertaken.
Comox Strathcona Regional District ...resolution
BACKLASH:
Quinsam Coal and the Campbell River Mirror react - and it ain't
pretty! Quinsam's David Slater said, "the resolution is toothless -
the regional district can't interfere with the mine's plans to explore for coal bed methane. At the end of the day we
will be drilling for methane."
Grant Warkentin, Campbell River Mirror, July 16, 2003 ...article
Editorial, Campbell River Mirror, July 16, 2003 ...editorial
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Miners' anger erupts at RD meeting
Apr 2, 2003
A controversial bylaw amendment has been passed by the Comox Strathcona Regional District, but
not without some drama. Quinsam Coal president David Slater believes the amendment is intended to block
a coal-fired power plant under consideration at Quinsam Coal’s mine site, and
about 80 angry mine employees attended the meeting with signs in hand.
Grant Warkentin, Campbell River Mirror ...article
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Joy MacPhail grills Minister on coalbed methane
Apr 2, 2003
J. MacPhail: I'm getting a sense from the tone of the
minister that he doesn't like being asked questions. That was just a straight-up
question. I'm not quite sure why he has to get so antsy about it. I could
actually try to do it in the same way that the sheep do, which is praise him
first about all the great work he's doing, and maybe he'd be a little less
petulant. I'm just collecting the stuff, doing my job, Mr. Chair. So maybe he
could just….
Hansard, April 2, 2003 ...transcript
Quinsam
eyes drilling for coal bed methane
Mar 29, 2003
Coalbed methane drilling northwest of the airport could open up a whole new
industry in Campbell River. "If the coalbed methane is there in the volumes we believe it is, it
will be good for everyone," said Quinsam Coal president David Slater.
Grant Warkentin, Campbell River Mirror ...article
Methane's not risk-free, critics say
Mar 11, 2003
British Columbians must be vigilant if they hope to avoid the horror stories
associated with coalbed methane in the United States, says a pair of American
environmental campaigners. At the invitation of West Coast Environmental Law, the two Americans are
making a series of B.C. appearances this week to highlight the environmental
risks associated with coalbed methane exploration and development.
Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun ...article
Methane search wasting water, critics contend
Mar 10, 2003
Alberta’s water supply is under increasing threat from coalbed methane that the
energy sector is beginning to tap into, says a director of the Butte Action
Committee. Don Bester said coalbed methane will have even more disastrous
effects on water supplies ....
Laura Tester, Red Deer Advocate ...article
Poisoning our future?
Public Forums on the Impact of
Coal Bed Methane Development in BC
Mar 08, 2003
West Coast Environmental Law joins with local groups
to sponsor four public forums this March in Courtenay, Hudson's Hope, Fernie and Vancouver on the
environmental impact of coal bed methane development in BC.
The forums feature American experts Gwen Lachelt of Colorado's Oil and Gas
Accountability Project and Jill Morrison from Wyoming's Powder River Basin
Resource Council talking about the US experience with coal bed methane
exploration and drilling.
Westcoast Environmental Law ...www.wcel.org
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