nds76
03-12-2006, 12:58am
EDMONTON (CP) - Industry, government and regulatory officials say there's simply no way that coalbed methane drilling in Alberta is ever going to cause the kind of widespread water contamination it has in parts of the United States.
But some residents of central and southern Alberta aren't so sure.
Hundreds have been turning out to a series of townhall meetings featuring a New Mexico rancher and an American activist who are sounding the alarm about the threat to water.
Drilling for coalbed methane, which is natural gas contained in coal, has taken the United States by storm, said Gwen Lachelt, director of the U.S. based Oil and Gas Accountability Project
"Coalbed methane has also taken Alberta by storm and we're here to say: Make the industry clean up its mess," she told reporters Wednesday.
So far, fewer than a dozen people at the Alberta meetings have complained of fouled drinking water, Lachelt conceded. But she expects the number of cases will grow with increased drilling.
"We're very concerned that Alberta is following the path that has happened in the United States."
Energy Minister Greg Melchin says there's simply no comparison to be made between Alberta and the U.S. when it comes to the impact of coalbed methane drilling.
"We have decades of experience with energy drilling and a very good track record with very little incidence of problems," Melchin said in an interview. "But yeah, if industry causes a problem they should correct it."
Alberta's energy regulator estimates that nearly 7,000 new coalbed methane wells have been drilled in Alberta so far. The grassroots Alberta Surface Rights Federation says thousands more are planned in the coming years.
The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board has received only a handful of complaints about tainted water to date, spokesman Bob Curran said from Calgary.
"Last year, we had 3,000 wells drilled but fewer than 20 complaints," Curran said. "These complaints are for all types of issues, including water, noise and surface impacts."
Major drilling for coalbed methane has only occurred in Alberta for a couple of years, compared with two decades in some American states.
Tweeti Blancett, whose family has owned a ranch in New Mexico since the 1870s, says a long list of regulations didn't prevent coalbed methane drilling from contaminating nearly all the water wells on 34,000 acres where hundreds of cattle used to graze.
"Our water on the ranch has been completely contaminated. It is deadly," said Blancett.
She said drilling for conventional oil and gas on the same land three decades earlier was relatively clean compared to the blasting and "fracturing" required to extract coalbed methane.
"We're not trying to tell Canadians what to do," she said. "All we're trying to say is: This is what's happened to us and you don't want to make the same mistakes."
The head of Canada's largest energy industry group says wellwater can become contaminated for many reasons in a province with a wealth of gases trapped in the ground.
"This is not an issue that has emerged because of coalbed methane," said Pierre Alvarez, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. "In terms of fear-mongering, I hope that's not the case.
"Nothing is more important to people than water, and I think we've recognized that."
Alberta Environment Minister Guy Boutilier said he sympathizes with concerns about drinking water.
"We'll do whatever it takes in terms of protecting water," he said. "Because if I were in a desert and I had a choice between a barrel of oil and a barrel of water, I know what I would take."
Paul Hinman, the lone Alberta Alliance member of the Alberta legislature, brought the Americans to the legislature Wednesday to buttress his call for tougher regulations.
Curran suggested there has been overreaction at some of the townhall meetings.
"We're not certain why those folks are out there telling people things that are clearly incorrect or misleading," he said. "But we do want people to know that there's a regulator on the job in Alberta and we'll make sure that the rules are followed."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2006/03/08/1478803-cp.html
But some residents of central and southern Alberta aren't so sure.
Hundreds have been turning out to a series of townhall meetings featuring a New Mexico rancher and an American activist who are sounding the alarm about the threat to water.
Drilling for coalbed methane, which is natural gas contained in coal, has taken the United States by storm, said Gwen Lachelt, director of the U.S. based Oil and Gas Accountability Project
"Coalbed methane has also taken Alberta by storm and we're here to say: Make the industry clean up its mess," she told reporters Wednesday.
So far, fewer than a dozen people at the Alberta meetings have complained of fouled drinking water, Lachelt conceded. But she expects the number of cases will grow with increased drilling.
"We're very concerned that Alberta is following the path that has happened in the United States."
Energy Minister Greg Melchin says there's simply no comparison to be made between Alberta and the U.S. when it comes to the impact of coalbed methane drilling.
"We have decades of experience with energy drilling and a very good track record with very little incidence of problems," Melchin said in an interview. "But yeah, if industry causes a problem they should correct it."
Alberta's energy regulator estimates that nearly 7,000 new coalbed methane wells have been drilled in Alberta so far. The grassroots Alberta Surface Rights Federation says thousands more are planned in the coming years.
The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board has received only a handful of complaints about tainted water to date, spokesman Bob Curran said from Calgary.
"Last year, we had 3,000 wells drilled but fewer than 20 complaints," Curran said. "These complaints are for all types of issues, including water, noise and surface impacts."
Major drilling for coalbed methane has only occurred in Alberta for a couple of years, compared with two decades in some American states.
Tweeti Blancett, whose family has owned a ranch in New Mexico since the 1870s, says a long list of regulations didn't prevent coalbed methane drilling from contaminating nearly all the water wells on 34,000 acres where hundreds of cattle used to graze.
"Our water on the ranch has been completely contaminated. It is deadly," said Blancett.
She said drilling for conventional oil and gas on the same land three decades earlier was relatively clean compared to the blasting and "fracturing" required to extract coalbed methane.
"We're not trying to tell Canadians what to do," she said. "All we're trying to say is: This is what's happened to us and you don't want to make the same mistakes."
The head of Canada's largest energy industry group says wellwater can become contaminated for many reasons in a province with a wealth of gases trapped in the ground.
"This is not an issue that has emerged because of coalbed methane," said Pierre Alvarez, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. "In terms of fear-mongering, I hope that's not the case.
"Nothing is more important to people than water, and I think we've recognized that."
Alberta Environment Minister Guy Boutilier said he sympathizes with concerns about drinking water.
"We'll do whatever it takes in terms of protecting water," he said. "Because if I were in a desert and I had a choice between a barrel of oil and a barrel of water, I know what I would take."
Paul Hinman, the lone Alberta Alliance member of the Alberta legislature, brought the Americans to the legislature Wednesday to buttress his call for tougher regulations.
Curran suggested there has been overreaction at some of the townhall meetings.
"We're not certain why those folks are out there telling people things that are clearly incorrect or misleading," he said. "But we do want people to know that there's a regulator on the job in Alberta and we'll make sure that the rules are followed."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2006/03/08/1478803-cp.html