LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
The message from several dozen Fort Simpson residents at an April 21 public meeting about fracking was loud and clear: the controversial practice isn't wanted in the Deh Cho.

Fracking in a number of American states has become common practice, like this Wyoming fracking field. During a public meeting last week, Fort Simpson residents voiced strong opposition to the territorial government's plan to implement regulations that would allow companies to drill for oil and gas in the territory using the controversial method of extraction. - photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Throughout the meeting people said the government shouldn't be pressing ahead so quickly to allow the controversial oil retrieval process onto the territory's pristine lands.

In fact, many said the territorial government should place a moratorium on fracking until more information about its long-term environmental effects can be known, following the same standards adopted by most European Union nations and a number of American states.

A contingent of officials with Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) and Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) explained how the regulations would work and are being tailored to suit what the North needs. Menzie McEachern, director of petroleum resources, said the regulations are based on the fracking requirements set out by the National Energy Board, but go a step further in addressing Northern-specific issues.

The GNWT inherited the regulations when the responsibility was handed over to the territorial government from the federal government in its 2014 devolution agreement.

"The GNWT has commitment to strengthen regulatory systems in the best interest of its residents," said Deborah Archibald, assistant deputy minister of mineral and petroleum resources.

Four new requirements have been added to the filing process, said McEachern, including baseline surface and groundwater testing, public disclosure, measures to address air quality and enhanced reporting throughout the life of the project, including post-fracking.

However, residents were irked by the territorial government's suggestion that fracking is a safe practice, considering the contradictory research widely available, and that not all jurisdictions believed it was.

Former premier and current Liidlii Kue First Nation councillor Jim Antoine said after hearing the presentation he felt the government hadn't done enough research or preparation to make residents opposed to fracking comfortable with its decision to proceed in such a short time frame.

"It's like putting the cart before the horse," he told the audience of more than 50 people. "I don't know how you could say it's safe when we don't know a lot about it."

Antoine highlighted the fracking extraction happening in northern B.C. as an example of why the government needs to proceed cautiously, particularly when it comes to groundwater and the impact below the surface.

"No one really knows what happens to the water," he said. "We don't know the cumulative effects of the work in B.C. and we're going to be letting this into our territory? We need to do more research."

The use of water as part of the extraction process was of grave concern for Percy Hardisty, who talked about the need for water to be piped to well sites on other projects across North America.

The depletion of the natural resource at no cost to the company didn't seem right, he added.

"This is so controversial," Hardisty said, adding the secrecy around the chemicals used to extract the oil and gas and the limited ability to control or properly understand the movement of water underground was a disaster waiting to happen. While the new regulation request operators to disclose their frack fluid makeup publicly, they do not go so far as to require it.

"It doesn't just destroy the water, it destroys animals and air," he said.

Rob Jenkins, director of water resources for the territorial government, said companies applying for licences have to give an estimated amount of water that would be used. However, what the acceptable threshold would be wasn't made clear.

Liidlii Kue First Nations councillor John Tsetso said while the government regulations work to mitigate and limit environmental impacts, there were potential outcomes they couldn't control.

"How do you mitigate earthquakes and ground aquifers?" he asked. "I think it's aggressive. My advice is to take a step back and have a wholesome discussion before moving forward."

Most who spoke said the timeline to implement the regulations by August was aggressive, and the public, aboriginal governments and community stakeholders needed to be consulted more seriously.

"We might be investing in something that by the time we realize the benefits, it's going to tank and that's it, we move onto other things," said resident Chuck Blyth. "It's too fast, too incomplete, too disingenuous."

Blyth said the fact it's being left to the companies to prove that fracking is safe and the public to determine it isn't, represents a failure on the government's part to protect its citizens and its interests in the territory. He added that the fact companies are required to provide a plan to offer employment and business opportunities in their application is nothing more than an exercise.

"It's unenforceable," he said. "There is no penalty. If they don't get businesses involved, the project goes ahead anyways."

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