Fort Simpson (Jan 12/07) - Paramount Resources Ltd. says it is seeking clarification on an environmental assessment completed by the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board.

In Sept. 2005 the company applied for a land use permit to conduct a geophysical program to look for potential oil and gas reserves along approximately 45 kilometres of access cutlines in the Cameron Hills area.

In its decision released on Nov. 14, the board approved the project, but said it would have "significant adverse impacts on boreal caribou." To mitigate the impact, the board required that the cutlines be a maximum of 2.5 metres wide and meander. Paramount had originally asked for six metre wide cutlines.

After reading the environmental assessment report and the reference material highlighted in the report, Paramount is still unable to understand how the board reached its conclusions, said Shirley Maaskant, the manager of regulatory and community affairs for the company.

"We're not seeing any scientific evidence or justification for determining either one of those two parameters," said Maaskant.

Paramount wrote a letter to the board asking for clarification.

Even with six meter wide cutlines, Paramount doesn't believe the project will have a significant impact on the boreal caribou, said Maaskant.

The company asked for cutlines that would be a maximum of six metres wide because the project will be done in the winter and there needs to be room to pile cleared snow. Trees that need to be cut along the right-of-way would also need to be piled. If conditions vary, only five metres may be needed, she said.

But as well as being environmentally viable, the project also has to be economically viable, said Maaskant. With 2.5 metre cutlines fully helicopter portable seismic equipment is almost the only option left for the project. With a limited number of daylight hours in the winter, using a helicopter would be cost prohibitive, she said.

Maaskant said the company is trying to decide why the board choose 2.5 meters as the distance for the cutline width.

"What's so special about a 2.5 metre wide line," she asked.

Paramount is questioning if the 2.5 metre limit will be applied to other projects across the territory where caribou are present, said Maaskant.

The board sent Paramount a letter of response, drawing attention to five pages environmental assessment report where the board provides an overview of the evidence used to make the decision.

The letter provided no additional insight, said Maaskant.

"That was Paramount's viewpoint and of course they probably didn't like what the board said and that's them lashing out," said Mary Tapsell, the manager of environmental impact assessment for the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board.

An environmental assessment considers all the evidence brought to the board, and the board made its decision using that evidence, said Tapsell.

There's lots of scientific evidence on how seismic lines impact wildlife like boreal caribou.

Other jurisdictions in B.C. and Alberta have moved to cutlines as low as 1.5 metres, Tapsell said.

The decision on the Paramount case won't necessarily influence other projects. Every project is assessed individually so the board doesn't have to make the same determination every time, but companies should pay attention, she said.

"It's a wake up call," said Tapsell.

Although the board is finished with the environmental assessment, a final decision still hasn't been made on it because the report has been referred to the federal ministers responsible, she said.

While the NWT government has the right to restrict cutline widths, Maaskant said they should tell companies upfront so they can calculate their economics accordingly. Companies are looking for consistency and transparency, she said.

This environmental assessment decision also casts light on a bigger problem in the territory, said Maaskant.

"It continues to highlight the need for an oil and gas exploration and development strategy in the NWT," Maaskant said.