BEAUFORT DELTA
The Inuvialuit Environmental Impact Review Board (EIRB) held meetings across the Beaufort Delta to discuss Imperial Oil’s Beaufort Sea exploration joint venture drilling program.

Jon Pierce, the chairperson of the Environmental Impact Review Board, was one of a panel at a public information session March 30 at Ingamo Hall. The panel is visiting the Inuvialuit communities in the delta to discuss Imperial Oil's pending application to begin exploratory offshore drilling in the Beaufort Sea. - NNSL file photo

Designed to gather community input to form eventual terms of reference for Imperial’s environmental impact statement.

In total, 197 individuals attended the six community meetings. According to EIRB staffer Dez Loreen, registered participants included 45 from Tuktoyaktuk, 28 from Paulatuk, 63 from Ulukhaktok, 11 from Sachs Harbour, four from Inuvik, and 16 from Aklavik.

The Inuvik meeting was held on a Sunday evening, which may have contributed to the low turnout there.

“Four members of the six person (EIRB) board, plus the chair, would make a presentation to the community,” Doreen said. “They would present to the community and after that they opened the floor to questions.”

Engagement meetings were held at local high schools in all communities as well, expect for Sachs Harbour where weather delays prevent it.

“The students were engaged,” Doreen said. “They had comments and concerns about education and opportunities that might become available in the region.”

“We introduced (opportunities) from the point of view of working for industry, being on co-management boards, and working within the community at the Inuvialuit Development Corporation (IDC) level.”

Feedback from these meetings will help define Imperial’s formal environmental impact statement, triggering further reviews.

“(EIRB) staff are compiling terms of reference, (which is) the document we bring back to the proponent,” Doreen said.“They’ll then submit an environmental impact statement which will bring on public hearings.”

The EIRB has a board meeting scheduled for April 14, when they will discuss timing for compiling the terms of reference.

More community meetings are planned regarding the project.

Even with approvals in hand, it could take up to four years of preliminary work -- including sourcing or building ice-breakers -- before the company would ready to being drilling an exploratory deep-water well. Oil production is unlikely until the middle of the next decade at the earliest.