Environmentalists haven’t wasted any time attacking the provincial government’s efforts to increase transparency around natural gas fracking in northeast B.C.
Earlier this month, Premier Christy Clark announced a new online registry that would allow the public to find hydraulic fracturing (fracking) well sites with the click of a mouse, and trace the chemicals that are used to extract the natural gas from B.C.’s tight rock formations.
“Now all British Columbians will have access to the information they need to make informed decisions about the industry’s operations,” Clark said in a statement.
But the Wilderness Committee, a citizen-funded environmental protection organization, said the new website doesn’t ensure gas companies aren’t contaminating groundwater.
Wilderness Committee campaigner Tria Donaldson called on the government to ban all hydraulic fracturing activities until there’s a better understanding of how they could affect the environment and human health.
She pointed to jurisdictions such as Quebec, New York and New Jersey, which have all instituted some type of ban or moratorium on hydraulic fracturing activities.
“There’s very, very rigid regulations coming in all around the world and in B.C. we’re talking about putting up a website,” Donaldson said. “We’re just barely skimming the surface.”
Hydraulic fracturing relies on a combination of water, sand and chemicals that are pumped into deep, tight and shale rock formations.
The combination fractures the rock, releasing the gas contained therein, allowing it to be drawn back to the surface.
Environmentalists have blamed the process for contaminating groundwater, claiming in some areas that tap water has become so chemically laced it can be set on fire.
In April, U.S. Democratic Congressmen released a comprehensive inventory of the chemicals used by hydraulic fracturing companies, the first report of its kind.
It detailed that companies were “injecting millions of gallons of products that contain potentially hazardous chemicals, including known carcinogens.”
Although Donaldson conceded that the industry in B.C. has yet to report an incident of harm to groundwater, she believes it’s only a matter of time.
“Fracking in B.C. is relatively new as an industry, so I think we’re really in the early stages of what the impact will be,” she said.
The B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines said in a statement to Business in Vancouver that there is “a considerable amount of inaccurate information being circulated about hydraulic fracturing, particularly in relation to B.C., and this website will provide clear and accurate information.”
Although all current fracking activities will be published on the website, the ministry said the industry would not be required to disclose the location of future well sites.
When asked if the website would also disclose the location of historic well sites, the ministry said it was a “possibility” but not the intended purpose of the registry.
For the industry, the new disclosure rules are just business as usual.
Encana (TSX:ECA) spokesman Alan Boras said his company has been disclosing well-site activities and chemical ingredients used at sites in the U.S. for a long time.
That information, he said, is available at www.Fracfocus.org.
“We are in favour of disclosure, and we have been encouraging our suppliers to continue to develop environmentally friendly fluids.”
Boras added that Encana is not concerned that the provincial government could be moving toward a moratorium on drilling similar to other jurisdictions.
Although the natural gas industry is relatively new to B.C., in recent years it has exploded into a $6 billion per year sector, generating jobs, new businesses and tax dollars for various levels of government.
Still, the province has said it’s keeping a close eye on the industry.
In June, Energy Minister Rich Coleman told Business in Vancouver the government was planning to conduct a health review focusing on the industry’s impact on northeast B.C. residents.
A Ministry of Health spokesman said that review has yet to begin. The hydraulic fracturing registry will be online in January. •
