Blog Archives
Fracking and earthquakes: Exploring the connection
A fracking drill in BC’s Horn River Basin (Two Island Films).
B.C. commission draws link between fracking and 231 seismic events in province
By Terry Reith, Briar Stewart, CBC News, April 17, 2015
May Mickelow had just settled into her shift as night auditor at the Foxwood Inn in Fox Creek, Alta., when she felt the rumble.
“You didn’t hear anything, but you could feel the earth move underneath your feet quite strongly, actually,” said Mickelow. “I felt dizzy, as if I was suddenly on uneven footing.”
Some hotel guests descended to the main floor, asking Mickelow if she had felt the shaking. She had been through earthquakes before, but not here. Read the rest of this entry
SWN Resources granted one-year extension to search for shale gas in New Brunswick
RCMP surround “thumper” seismic testing vehicles contracted by SWN Resources, Nov 14, 2013.
CTV Atlantic, March 16, 2015
SWN Canada has just been granted a one-year extension on licenses they have to look for shale gas in New Brunswick.
The company’s licenses were set to expire today, but the New Brunswick government granted SWN Resources permission to extend their search.
“While a license to search gives the holder rights to the area in question, it is subject to government’s proposed moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. The moratorium will remain in place until our five conditions are addressed and the risks to our health, water and environment are fully understood,” says Energy and Miners Minister Donald Arseneault. Read the rest of this entry
Blueberry River First Nations lawsuit threatens Site C, fracking in B.C.
Protest by some Treaty 8 First Nations against Site c dam, 2013.
Suit alleges government violated Treaty 8 rights with cumulative impacts of oil and gas development
CBC News, Mar 04, 2015
The Blueberry River First Nations have launched a legal battle that could affect B.C.’s planned Site C hydroelectric dam, as well as oil and gas development both inside and outside the band’s territory.
The B.C. First Nation has filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court that alleges years of development, including mining, forestry and oil and gas projects, have violated its treaty rights under Treaty 8. Read the rest of this entry
New Brunswick moratorium on fracking has 5 conditions, including consulting First Nations
Women warriors at a tire fire blockade on Hwy 11, Dec 2, 2013.
by
FREDERICTON – The New Brunswick government is introducing a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing that the premier says won’t be lifted until five conditions are met.
Those conditions include a process to consult with First Nations, a plan for wastewater disposal and credible information about the impacts fracking has on health, water and the environment, Brian Gallant said Thursday.
“We have been clear from Day One that we will impose a moratorium until risks to the environment, health and water are understood,” Gallant told a news conference in Fredericton. Read the rest of this entry
Fracking waste water being injected into old wells in northeastern B.C.
Enbridge fracking plant near Fort Nelson, BC.
Integrity of those wells unclear, says UVic study
Toxic waste water equal in volume to 24 World Trade Center towers has been injected into a single 46-year-old natural gas well in northeastern British Columbia, says a report for the Fort Nelson First Nation done by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre.
More than 41 billion litres of water too contaminated for surface disposal has been injected into the well — identified as Well #2240 — since 1968.
“Because waste water is not tracked after disposal,” the study says, “the fate of this massive quantity of waste water is unknown.”
B.C. seeks First Nations’ input on LNG planning right from the start
Police and security inspect banner dropped at International LNG in BC conference, May 21, 2013, by members of Rising Tide.
Key word: Collaboration
The Province/The Canadian Press,
In a first for relations between the B.C. government and First Nations, the province is asking for aboriginal input on environmental stewardship around natural gas development.
Aboriginal Relations Minister John Rustad says that in the past the province would release a plan for development and then ask for comment, but this time there will be collaboration between First Nations, industry and the government from the start.
Defiant northern Chief galvanizes BC First Nations against Premier’s LNG plans
Sharleen Gail, chief of Fort Nelson band.
The “Fort Nelson incident” has united First Nations against speedy approvals of a $78 billion industry – potentially “destabilizing” the Premier’s entire strategy.
The actions of a young, tough-talking First Nations leader in northeast B.C. last week, that sparked the embarrassing reversal of a cabinet decision to fast-track natural gas plants, appears to be rallying province-wide Aboriginal opposition to Liquified Natural Gas plans.
Black bear killed by Apache contractor near Nelson, BC
Apache contractor ran over a hibernating bear den while clearing land near Fort Nelson, B.C.
CBC News, Jan 30, 2014
An oil and gas company is investigating after one of its contractors accidentally ran over and killed a black bear near Fort Nelson, B.C., last week.
The black bear was hibernating in a shallow, unidentified den approximately 100 kilometres northwest of Fort Nelson, in the Liard Basin of northern B.C. Read the rest of this entry
Natural gas pipeline explodes near Otterburne, Man.
Explosion from TransCanada natural gas pipeline in Otterburne, Manitoba, Jan 25, 2014.
Emergency workers, TransCanada investigating cause of pipeline blast
CBC News, Jan 25, 2014
Fire burned for more than 12 hours at a natural gas pipeline after it exploded early Saturday morning near Otterburne, Man., about 50 kilometres south of Winnipeg.
RCMP, responded around 1:05 a.m. to what they’re calling a “loud explosion.”
Witnesses who live close to the scene said it was massive. Paul Rawluk lives nearby and drove to the site. Read the rest of this entry
Alberta gas company pleads guilty, fined after pipeline leak
CBC/The Canadian Press, Dec 27, 2013
A Calgary-based natural gas company has been assessed $350,000 in fines after pleading guilty to a pipeline leak that killed hundreds of fish and damaged a creek in northern Alberta. Read the rest of this entry
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