Yellowknife (May 20/05) - The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board will meet before the weekend to clear a backlog of permits and deal with strife on a panel led by chairman Todd Burlingame.

"We're going to get those applications out," an angry Willard Hagen, chairman of the Gwich'in Land and Water Board, vowed Wednesday.

The Gwich'in water board is one of the regional boards that make up the Mackenzie board.

"I'm pissed off with people pursuing personal agendas. It's unprofessional - maybe they should all resign," said Hagen, who may ask Indian Affairs minister Andy Scott to intervene.

The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board Act "gives him the powers to remove directors for not carrying out their duties," Hagen said.

Established five years ago, the Mackenzie board issues necessary land access and water use permits for all major developments in the Northwest Territories.

The panel representing unsettled areas has been in turmoil since Scott ignored the recommendations of the board and named Burlingame as chair.

Burlingame shut down the panel Wednesday for the second time in a month, after members passed a resolution in apparent defiance of a board directive to avoid rhetoric and keep personal differences to themselves.

The latest shutdown put several permit applications on hold, including the Deh Cho Bridge, BHP Billiton's diamond mine, Diamondex Resources and North American General Resources.

"If business is being delayed by personal issues, we'll have to deal with that, but we want to hear both sides," said Hagen.

The internal bickering has "tarnished the reputation of the board. We want to put the shine back on," Hagen said.