The movement against coalbed methane (CBM) development in the province got another boost from the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) and can now count the B.C. First Nations Summit as an “active member”.
In back-to-back resolutions in September, both groups denounced further CBM development in the province. (The Province of B.C. actively solicits CBM tenure applications from petroleum corporations—see http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/OG/Pages/default.aspx)
Randal Macnair, Mayor of Fernie, commented on the UBCM resolution saying that, “The fact that coalbed methane has met with serious concern and opposition in Fernie and other communities across B.C. highlights the urgent need for the province to take a second look at this industry. It is inconsistent to legislate greenhouse gas reductions while subsidizing this kind of fossil fuel extraction.”
“Opposition to CBM is growing—quickly,” said Casey Brennan, a Wildsight program manager in Fernie. “The local community can be assured it’s not alone in having grave concerns about CBM.”
BP, the multinational petroleum corporation with dismal environmental and safety track records, has applied for a CBM tenure covering more than 300 square kilometres of prime grizzly habitat in the southern Rocky Mountains east of Fernie. It’s called the Mist Mountain Coalbed Gas Project.
“In April, the City of Fernie unanimously resolved to ask Gordon Campbell to deny CBM tenure to BP,” Brennan said. “The UBCM resolution came on September 25. It opposes CBM development in the Sacred Headwaters: the source of B.C.’s Skeena, Nass and Stikine Rivers in northern B.C.
“The First Nations Summit resolution came out the next day and it’s even more to the point. It calls for a 10-year, province-wide CBM development moratorium.” continued Brennan.
Six of B.C.’s major environmental NGOs are also calling for a 10-year moratorium on CBM drilling, including: Wildsight, Forest Ethics, Sierra Club BC, Pembina Institute, West Coast Environmental Law, Dogwood Initiative and local Citizens Concerned About Coalbed Methane groups across the province.
Brennan said that Wildsight is working closely with this provincial coalition of community and environmental groups on the issue. “We intend to make it crystal clear to Gordon Campbell that he must put this industry on hold: use sound science to protect the values, and not give away what we can never get back.”
Supplemental quotes:
The BC First Nations Summit represents the majority of First Nations and Tribal Councils in B.C.
First Nations Summit: “The coalbed methane industry is infringing on aboriginal title and rights all over British Columbia,” said Debbie Pierre, Executive Director of the Office of the Wet’suwet’en. “Our wildlife and wild salmon are threatened, and we are calling on Gordon Campbell to halt all drilling until we have a better approvals system in place.”
The UBCM represents more than 160 municipalities across the province.
UBCM: “We’ve got rednecks, commercial fishermen, sport fishermen, First Nations, municipal leaders, you name it—it’s a broad spectrum of people who don’t find this acceptable,” said Doug Donaldson, the mayor of Hazelton, B.C. and a supporter of the resolution at the UBCM.
For more information, contact:
Casey Brennan
Wildsight Southern Rockies and Flathead Program Manager
casey@wildsight.ca
