The NLHFRP Report that Ray Gosine will be presenting to Government is non-binding, meaning that Government may, or may not, follow the recommendations outlined in the Panel’s Report.
Photo of Port au Port/Bay St. George Fracking Awareness Group Board, May 26, 2016. Photo by Aiden Mahoney
Photo by Jerome Hoskins May 24, 2016 (Note concrete plug top of photo. Repair cost about $175,000.00) The oil leak that was repaired last fall in Port au Port Bay at Shoal Point is leaking once again.
Boswarlos man not impressed with oil leak repair at Shoal Point by Frank Gale, May 25, 2016, The Western Star
Jerome Hoskins was not impressed when he went to check on the capped oil pipe at Shoal Point on Tuesday evening, only to discover the work carried out last November is not holding up.
The Boswarlos man said the oil can be seen “bubbling up” around a pipe that has been laid into a concrete pad
“I was curious all the time to see how that held out after the winter months and was disappointed with what I saw when I visited the site,” Hoskins said.
At the top of the pipe is a valve, but Hoskins said he couldn’t tell whether there is any pressure on it. He said there was no evidence of oil slicks around the other two pipes in the general area, but it appeared lots of oil was coming up from the repaired pipe. [What will Ray Gosine, Maurice Dusseault et al recommend in their frac report about the leak? Frac it ‘n study it? The way Dr. John Cherry and Council Canadian Academies Frac Panel Report recommends Canadians get frac’d for study subjects?]
“It’s a concern for Port au Port Bay and the people who fish there,” he said.
The Port au Port Fishery Committee was complaining about the leak for several years and felt it was destroying scallop stocks in the bay before the repairs were made last year. [A little benzene, toluene & mystery frac chemicals with your seafood? Yummy, no need for sauce.]
Committee member Bob Diamond said he contacted authorities, including the Department of Environment and Conservation and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Boyd and Bungay Construction in Stephenville carried out the repair work in November 2015, with an engineer from Amec Foster Wheeler Environment and Infrastructure on site to oversee the project.
Emily Timmins, director of communications with the Department of Environment and Conservation, confirmed the department received a report late Tuesday of oil seen in the vicinity of the sealed well. Timmins said the Canadian Coast Guard has been notified and officials from the provincial department were going to look at it.
Dave Humphries, an environmental response officer with Canadian Coast Guard, said an incident was reported, but the province is the lead agency. Humphries said it has been determined the wellheads are land based and not the responsibility of the Canadian Coast Guard, which handles shipboard and marine pollution.
“It’s not our mandate to respond or deal with the leakage at Shoal Point,” [Musical Pass the Buck Regulators, like Alberta Environment and AER in Alberta?] Humphries said.
Meanwhile, MHA John Finn had informed Environment and Conservation Minister Perry Trimper, and also followed up with Long Range Mountains MP Gudie Hutchings.
“The Department of Environment is jumping on this to examine what transpired,” said Finn. “I followed this all last summer and into the fall and it has my utmost priority.”
[WHERE’S THE OIL COMPANY THAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM? GETTING READY TO FRAC SHOAL POINT UNDER ANOTHER NAME?]
Fracking report set for release to public Tuesday by The Telegram, May 26, 2016
As members of the Port au Port/Bay St. George Fracking Awareness Group await the release of a report from the provincial hydraulic fracturing review panel, the group insists there should be a ban on the practice.
The review panel, led by chair and lead writer Ray Gosine, is set to present the report to Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady on Friday.
Graham Oliver, a spokesman for the awareness group, believes the oil industry has controlled the public message on hydraulic fracturing, saying the oil and gas extraction method was safe and well-regulated.
“Today citizens are more informed about the harmful effects associated with hydraulic fracturing and the majority are no longer accepting the Pollyanna narrative of industry,” said Oliver.
He hopes Gosine’s report will pay close attention to what’s happening in other jurisdictions where hydraulic fracturing was put under the microscope.
Oliver said following the release of the Wheeler Report on hydraulic fracturing in Nova Scotia in August 2014, that province’s Natural Resources minister announced a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. In December 2014, New York’s governor followed the advice of his chief medical officer and brought in a ban on hydraulic fracturing in that state. In February of this year, the New Brunswick Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing delivered its comprehensive report to government, which resulted in SWN Resources cancelling its plans to explore for shale gas.
Last month, Quebec Premier Phillippe Couillard expressed his displeasure with the controversial method of oil and gas extraction, said Oliver, and that province will concentrate on clean energy and investing in renewables.
Marion Sampson, chair of the fracking awareness group, said it has been a challenging three years getting word out on the harmful effects of fracking.
She hopes Gosine has heard the voice of the people who presented written and verbal submissions to the panel.
“With over 95 per cent of the more than 500 submissions to the panel expressing dissatisfaction with fracking, it’s obvious that there is no social license to proceed with hydraulic fracturing in this province,” said Sampson.
Gosine will discuss his report at a public meeting in Port au Port East at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Oliver expects a large audience at Maria Regina Parish Hall to hear what the panel is recommending to government.
While Oliver hopes the report will put an end to hydraulic fracturing once and for all, he says his group has expressed its displeasure with the composition of the panel, and is therefore very concerned about what Gosine will recommend to Coady.
The panel’s full report will be posted online Tuesday for the public to review:
nlhfrp.ca [Emphasis added]
Fracking Panel to Release Report May 31 27 News Bulletin by Port au Port/Bay St. George Fracking Awareness Group, May 10, 2016
CORRECTION: May 31 27: Ray Gosine to Release NLHFRP Report to Government (Gosine will meet with Minister Coady and Government Officials)
May 31: Public Release of NLHFRP Report … posted on Website http://nlhfrp.ca/
May 31: Public Meeting: Port au Port East Gym (Evening, Ray Gosine & Wade Locke will be on hand to Review Report)
May 31, June 1: Meetings with interested stakeholders on the West Coast (Port au Port/Stephenville/Corner Brook)
Finally, after a seven month delay and $150,000. over-budget, Ray Gosine will deliver the NL Hydraulic Fracturing Review Panel Report to the Natural Resources Minister, Siobhan Coady, on May 27. The Panel Review, originally budgeted at $300,000., was called by Minister Derrick Dalley in August 2014 and was scheduled to be released in October 2015.
While Minister Dalley looked at the Panel Review as an “Independent” process, members of the Port au Port Bay/St. George Fracking Awareness Group and other groups throughout the province sharply criticized the panel appointments for a number of reasons:
● The Panel was comprised of people with connections to the oil and gas industry
● It lacked representation from Western NL
● There were no women on the panel and no Aboriginal representation
● The Fishery and Tourism industries were not represented
● A strong voice to represent Health and the Environment was glaringly absent
So now that the Report is finished, what will the Report recommend to Government?
The full Report will consist of a 40 page Executive Summary, followed by a 250 page Report. There will also be about 1000 pages of appendices to support the findings of the Report. But probably the most important component of the Report will be the list of recommendations that Ray Gosine will deliver to Government.
Considering that the composition of Panel was looked upon with skepticism from the moment that the list of panel members was announced, nothing would surprise me. But the fracking landscape has changed dramatically in our favour since Minister Dalley announced the review in August 2014, and those changes cannot be ignored.
● We now know that earthquakes can be definitively linked to hydraulic fracturing
● The fracking ban in New York is well-established and holding firm
● The Concerned Health Professionals of NY continue to post studies on the harmful effects of fracking
● Maryland has an extended moratorium on fracking
● The bans on fracking in France and other European countries remain solid
● The Nova Scotia moratorium is holding firm
● SW Energy pulled out of NB after the Panel delivered its report in that province
● The Quebec Premier has closed the door on fracking and is focusing on renewables
…
Considering all the information that has come to light since Dalley announced the Panel Review, the Port au Port/Bay St. George Fracking Awareness Group is steadfast in its belief that Hydraulic Fracturing should be banned in Newfoundland and Labrador.
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[Refer also to:
And when you get frac’d?
Frac protest in Big Oil Calgary Alberta! If Big Oil Calgarians trusted Alberta regulators would they say NO to fracing for oil in their community?
2015 03 26: New Brunswick voted today to prohibit fracking
Above photos of Encana dumping waste on foodland at Rosebud, Alberta
2014 06 28: “Who wants to be a lab rat?” More Guinea Pig recommendations by Canadian frac “experts,”
Slide from Ernst presentations
2013 02 17: Fracking plans cause concern in Woody Point
2013 02 06: Gros Morne National Park official cites fracking concerns
2013 05 02: Trout River residents demand answers about fracking
2012 11 15: NAFTA challenge launched over Quebec fracking ban
2012 11 09: Shoal Point Energy Exploring Green Point Shale In Newfoundland
2012 12 03: Group warns fracking waste from Nfld could be headed for N.S. ]