Nisga's Critics Say Opposition Growing To Shell Coalbed Project
By George T. Baker
13 Sep 2008 at 01:47 AM GMT-04:00
resourceinvestor.com
Support is growing for a moratorium on drilling in an area called the Sacred Headwaters, say opponents of a coalbed methane project near the Nass River in northern British Columbia.
PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. (CP) -- More than 150 people attended an information meeting in New Aiyansh, B.C., earlier this week to discuss the project proposed by Shell Canada in an area called the Sacred Headwaters.
In 2004, Shell Canada was awarded a 400,000-hectare tenure for coalbed methane development in the area, also known as the Klappan.
The area is considered a vital watershed that feeds in to three rivers in northwestern B.C. — the Skeena, Nass and Stikine. The Nass and the Stikine empty out in the Hecate Strait near Prince Rupert.
Opponents fear drilling could contaminate groundwater and the marine environment.
The Nisga'a Nation held the event to discuss the company's decision to place a voluntary one-year moratorium on drilling in the Sacred Headwaters area.
"We were just talking about what we've been going through the last three years," said Rhonda Quock, representative for the Klobada Keepers elders group, who has opposed the drilling project since 2005.
Quock said the Shell decision was good news for those who have fought against the proposed project. "We must be doing something right".
"People are becoming more aware of it and we are getting a lot more support than we did when we started the fight," she said.
Quock is critical of the provincial Oil and Gas Commission Act because she says with no environmental assessment attached to it, the provincial government cannot ensure the Nass River will remain safe.
"We have a lot to lose — everyone downstream, native and non-native alike," she said.
Those attending the meeting were treated to a dinner of seafood caught in the Nass River, to drive home the point about the river's cultural, economic and dietary importance to the region.
Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen said there was a powerful message.
"The first thing the meeting was about was finding out how people feel about such a proposal and the last thing was doing something about it," said Cullen. "It was quite a powerful gathering of the Nisga'a and the Talthan nations and from other supporters."
Cullen said he is beginning to see unity among different nations in the northwest.
Critics of the project say there has been no research into how coalbed methane development would work in salmon-bearing watersheds. |
