Compton ruling may be appealed
Officials say risk to local residents still unknown
By Laurel Nadon
Staff reporter
The Calgary Health Region says health risks for residents weren’t
properly assessed when the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) approved
four sour gas wells south of Calgary.
The wells, proposed by Compton Petroleum Corporation, were granted conditional
approval June 22.
“The CHR is concerned that the proposed wells can’t be safely
drilled given the large number of people living in the emergency planning
zone as well as the existence of the proposed south hospital,” said
Dr. Brent Friesen, medical officer of health for the region.
Friesen said they’d like to see the emergency planning zone increased
to 10.7 kilometres and recommend that Compton use an emergency awareness
zone of 20 kilometres instead of 15 kilometres.
The CHR also wants more information on how the proposed south Calgary
hospital, to be built by 2010, would be evacuated if there were a leak.
“The south hospital will be built within five kilometres of the
new wells. That means it falls within the evacuation zone,” Friesen
said. “Our concern is that you have sick people in a hospital and
it’s very difficult to evacuate a hospital in a short period of
time.”
Bob Curran, EUB spokesperson, said that the CHR’s concern that public
safety issues weren’t addressed is unfounded.
“We had a lengthy hearing. We feel very confident that our decision
is entirely protective of public safety,” Curran said.
Curran noted that the 9.7 kilometre emergency planning zone is only during
drilling and completion of the wells. Once a well starts producing, that
drops to two kilometres because the risk is considerably less at that
point.
“The hospital won’t be within the evacuation zone,”
Curran said. “By the time the hospital is built, the wells will
be done production.”
Friesen said the EUB and Compton told them that they couldn’t indicate
how large the emergency planning zone would be in 2010.
He said the CHR is also concerned that site specific health risk assessments
haven’t yet been done, which is a critical step.
The EUB had an intervener perform a screening risk assessment, with the
site-specific health risk assessments required before final approval can
be given.
“Our preference would have been to have that done before they gave
conditional approval,” Friesen said.
Derek Longfield, vice-president of special projects for Compton, said
the cost for the project has increased since the emergency planning zone
was approved for 9.7 kilometres instead of the requested four kilometres.
“We’re still evaluating the (EUB) decision and what would
need to be done if we proceed,” Longfield said.
The CHR is now seeking permission from the Alberta Court of Appeal to
challenge the ruling. Groups have 30 days after a ruling to file for a
leave to appeal, which, if granted, gives them the option to apply for
appeal at a later date.
The CHR filed for a leave July 15 and appeared before a judge July 19.
The hearing was adjourned until Aug. 30, when it will be known if Compton
can move ahead with the wells.
Continued on page 9
“It’s not uncommon,” Curran said. “It’s
not unusual for parties to do that when we issue decisions.”
The CHR will move ahead with appealing the decision if they feel the risk
assessments and emergency response plan don’t show adequate attention
to public safety.
In June, the EUB denied Compton’s request for a reduced four-kilometre
emergency planning zone and instead approved a zone of 9.7 kilometres,
which includes a five-kilometre evacuation zone and a 4.7-kilometre sheltering
zone.
The proposed location for the wells is 4.5 kilometres southeast of the
closest Calgary residence with tens of thousands of people affected in
the 9.7 kilometre emergency planning zone.
Compton is required to meet 14 further EUB conditions, including that
the wells and surface facility must be abandoned and removed 15 years
from the date of the first well license approval or July 1, 2021, whichever
is sooner.
Compton has until Aug. 15 to let the EUB know if they intend to proceed
and until Nov. 1 to submit a new emergency response plan. If the timetable
isn’t met, the EUB may close the applications.
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Candy Shower
Alexandra Brittain ,13, tries to catch
candy thrown out to the children watching the Parade in Longview during
Little New York Daze last Saturday morning. Hundreds of people lined
the streets for the parade and took part in the long list of events
the weekend held. photo by Rae Holtsbaum
Cattle industry moving forward
By Matt Powers
Staff Reporter
The Canadian cattle industry is ready to move forward,
but it appears Montana Judge Richard Cebull is not. Cebull cancelled
a July 27 hearing on whether to stop cattle imports from Canada, saying
he needs more information about a higher court ruling before determining
whether to proceed.
It is the feeling among Canadian cattleman that the decision is a
step in the right direction, and that the BSE crisis may finally be
coming to an end, but they remain cautiously optimistic.
“I don’t see, after this last decision, how Cebull could
possibly have a leg to stand on or the R-CALF group, but we’ve
been surprised before so I’m not breathing easy yet,”
said Highwood MLA George Groeneveld.
It was Judge Cebull who placed a temporary injunction on Canadian
imports, but the U.S. federal appeals court overturned that decision
on July 14. Now, cattle under 30 months are heading south, but the
ranching community is not quite satisfied.
“Moving these cattle across the border is a slow and tedious
process because the rules have changed greatly and there are hoops
we
have to jump through,” Groeneveld said. “It is not as
though the border is wide open and we can run the cattle to the States,
we still have to do this in an orderly fashion, which is going quite
slow.”
Currently, cattle have to be checked individually, looking at teeth
to ensure the animal is under 30 months of age, has a “CAN”
brand and having registration numbers recorded. A veterinarian has
to be on site during the checks to make sure female cattle aren’t
pregnant and to sign off the paperwork.
A lot of truckers, who were hauling before the BSE crisis, are not
willing to adjust to the changes required of them, having found other
employment in the meantime. A shortage of transportation for live
beef to the U.S. could well be the next chapter in the story.
To add to the confusion, Lakeside Packers, a major packer in Brooks,
is facing internal issues due to the abuse those workers have claimed
to have received. A strike at Lakeside Packers will be another crisis
Canadian beef producers don’t want to see happen.
“The cattle business can absolutely not afford a strike right
now with some light at the end of the tunnel,” Groeneveld said.
Despite some of the setbacks, the industry is still working hard at
putting the BSE issue behind them.
Continued on page 9
According to Erik Butters, vice-chair of the Alberta Beef Producers,
the exchange rate for cattle going south is what it normally is with
trade in place. The next step is to try and resume trade with older
cattle and breeding stock.
“We are hoping the States will soon allow for trade in cattle
over 30 months and a trade in breeding stock. Traditionally there
is a huge market there for fleet stock operators and it will mean
we can move cull cows and cull bulls,” Butters said.
Cull cattle are cattle that are no longer reproducing and are currently
being sent to slaughter in Canadian facilities. The cattle over 30
months that can be re-bred are being kept with their calves because
they are still considered a productive animal.
The other main focus of the cattle industry is to continue their efforts
in the expansion of slaughter facilities. Since the first case of
BSE, in Canada the country has increased slaughter capacity by 24
per cent in 2004 and is expected to increase a further 19 per cent
by the end of 2007.
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In this issue...
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Tension high -
Stranded campers hope for temporary bridge
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Head coach hired -
Junior A Oilers make G.M. new head coach
• See Sports
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