 |
| The magnificent Skeena protected for another two years by B.C. government moratorium |
| PHOTO CREDIT Mack McColl It looked like Shell Canada Limited had got a foot in the door to explore the Sacred Headwaters of the Stikine, Skeena, and Nass river systems. Shell signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June 2004 with the Chair of the Tahltan Central Council, the Chief of the Tahltan Band, and the Chief of the Iskut First Nation. After the MOU was signed the Government of British Columbia granted Shell tenure in 2004 for specific rights to coalbed methane in the Klappan. Although the BC Oil and Gas Commission granted permission to drill up to five wells in 2004, Shell drilled only three in the midst of the MOU being rejected by the community and new elected councils. The Tahltan immediately resorted to road-blocks and the oil company was unable to access the area in the ensuing months and years. As 2008 progressed and Shell's exploration plans were being discussed the opposition mounted. At community halls from Hazelton north, "Residents from all walks of life stated that drilling thousands of wells at the source of our wild salmon rivers is not an option. The government's announcement shows that our voices are starting to be heard," said Shannon McPhail, Executive Director of the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition. "A moratorium is the right decision because it allows all Northwest residents to come together around a vision for protecting the Sacred Headwaters, " said Pat Moss with Friends of Wild Salmon, a coalition of First Nations, fishermen, and conservationists. "Shell has demonstrated real leadership with the moratorium. The key question is around social license – that is, whether the Sacred Headwaters is an appropriate place for oil and gas development," said Jaisel Vadgama with the Pembina Institute. The decision to impose a moratorium from Victoria, B.C. was based on the need for more discussion with First Nations and the community, explained Richard Neufeld, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister in the B.C. government. "Government is facilitating this by specifying no activity for two years," said the minister. Shell has said, "Our Klappan project is located within the traditional territory of the Tahltan First Nation. The communities nearest to Shell's tenured land are Iskut, Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake. We have consulted extensively with the leadership of the Tahltan First Nation as well as the community regarding all our activities, and will continue to do so in future planning in the Klappan." From the initial three exploration wells Shell determined that "more work is needed to determine whether gas can be produced in an environmentally responsible and commercially viable manner." With the limited drilling program Shell detected natural gas in coal seams. "More work is required to determine if a commercially viable CBM project exists. Our current estimates indicate several years of further work is required in the area." In 2005 Shell postponed field activity based on some Tahltan calling for a moratorium on resource development and some who participated in a blockade of the access road in the area. The First Nation and others all expressed concerns about the resource development threatening to unfold within traditional territory. Shell said, "Through our ongoing public consultation efforts, we are aware that while many members of the community support responsible resource development and welcome the economic benefits that come with it, some members of the community do not share this opinion." Even so, Shell planned to resume exploration program in 2007/2008 to continue the early stages of exploration. The 2007/2008 exploration program was supposed to consist of re-entering two of the three wells drilled in 2004 and potentially drilling 14 new wells for which they had licences from the BC Oil and Gas Commission. Shell noted that from the beginning the project team took care to plan exploration activities in a responsible manner by consulting with the elected Tahltan leadership, Elders, the Tahltan community, and other people who live in the area. Shell's project team had reviewed the proposed 2007/2008 exploration program with members of the Tahltan leadership and the Tahltan Heritage Resource Environmental Assessment Team. The consultations sought to get their input on environmental, archaeological, cultural and traditional use considerations. Site-specific environmental assessments were conducted for each of the proposed drilling sites in the area by Rescan Tahltan Environmental Consultants. Where concerns were expressed Shell had taken them in to consideration in the design of its proposed 2007/2008 exploration program. Following their commitment to supply jobs, two environmental monitors were hired through Rescan Tahltan Environmental Consultants to work with a senior Rescan Tahltan Environmental Monitor. They were to observe the work in the Klappan during exploration in 2008, and Shell said "We are committed to exploring for and producing natural gas from coal in a socially and environmentally responsible way." The company had said it would continue conducting additional environmental studies, baseline assessments and reclamation efforts in the Klappan area. This activity would assist in integrating regional environmental and social considerations. |
