News Release, MLAs Vicky Huntington & Bob Simpson, October 6th 2011

This week it was revealed that the BC government has approved yet another major water licence, despite an explicit promise to consult with the public before doing so. This second licence will allow upward of 7.3 billion litres of water per year to be removed annually from the Williston Reservoir.

Last June, Energy Minister Rich Coleman stated there would be “extensive public consultation and discussion” and there would be “negotiations with First Nations” before these water pipelines would be approved for hydraulic fracturing operations near Hudson's Hope when responding to question asked by Independent MLA Bob Simpson.

Simpson and Independent MLA Vicki Huntington are alarmed that the government has completely ignored the serious health and environmental concerns of communities, in an attempt to go full steam ahead with fracking operations in the Peace region. "The government has not fulfilled their promise to conduct a public review of health and safety issues associated with fracking, and now they have broken their promise to consult on water usage," said Simpson.

“The environmental and social problems related to fracking are stacking up and all we hear from the government are platitudes promoting the status-quo,” said MLA Huntington. “The public need for unbiased information on the impacts of fracking is growing daily and demands a non-partisan, science-based inquiry. The ability of the Legislature to publicly review the scientific data – and to recommend a responsible natural gas recovery strategy is becoming more important daily.”

This spring both Simpson and Huntington called on the Premier to convene a Special Legislative Committee to examine the development of BC’s unconventional gas resources and, in particular, the massive amounts of fresh water being used for hydraulic fracturing.

-30-

Contact:

Vicki Huntington
604-952-7596
Source

Bob Simpson
250-387-8347
Source