One of the most important reports submitted to the National Energy Board’s review of Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion has been denied, according to a biologist with one of the hearing’s intervenors.
Provincial regulators are struggling to keep up with a fracking boom that has caused small earthquakes in British Columbia and Alberta and could result in a larger one in the future, one of Canada’s top experts on seismic risks said on Thursday.
British Columbia’s Oil and Gas Commission confirmed this week that a 4.6-magnitude earthquake in the shale gas fields of the province’s northeast last summer was caused by hydraulic fracturing, the industry practice of using high-pressure water to crack rock and extract natural gas or oil.
When it comes to the proposed Trans Mountain expansion in British Columbia, ''confidence is actually growing,'' Kinder Morgan CEO Steve Kean told investors on a conference call Dec. 8.
"We also had, of course, a government changeover up there, and we're in communication with the new government to understand what, if any, additional process will be required,'' Kean said from a boardroom in Houston. ''But we're hopeful that that can be managed within the existing timeframe that we're working with.''
The Tsawwassen First Nation has rejected plans to build an LNG export facility just north of the B.C. Ferries terminal.
In a vote on Wednesday night, 53 per cent said 'no' to allowing the 32-hectare project on the nation's traditional land.
"What would you rather have, more money or a better environment?" asked Tsawwassen First Nation member Nic Gurniak. "No need to do more damage to the environment than has already been done."
British Columbia's energy regulator has confirmed that a 4.6 magnitude earthquake in northeast B.C. in August of this year was caused by a nearby fracking operation.
"This seismic event was caused by hydraulic fracturing," said Ken Paulson, CEO of the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission. Paulson said fewer than one per cent of fracking operations trigger seismic activity, and those quakes tend to be low magnitude and cause little damage.
Already battered by plunging oil prices, Western Canada has another big problem: the collapse of coal. Alberta and British Columbia are suffering from the fallout of a severe downturn in the global coal market, brought on by China’s rapidly cooling industrial demand and the growing shift away from coal-fired electricity generation. It’s troubled times for an industry that’s long been a quietly powerful force in the Canadian economy.
If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet ministers needed any reminder of how difficult their jobs are going to be when it comes to rebuilding trust with First Nations, they got it last week.
Working the crowd, when the Liberal caucus gathered for its annual Christmas party, was Chief Roland Willson, a big man with a powerful voice and an intractable problem he wasn’t going to let anyone ignore.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined other national leaders in hailing the international greenhouse gas emission agreement reached in Paris over the weekend, but the implications for Canada and B.C. remain unclear.
Trudeau said in a statement from Ottawa that he and the provincial premiers will meet within 90 days to develop a plan to do Canada's part in the effort to keep average global temperature rise below two degrees from pre-industrial levels.
