Environmental concerns sidelined, as usual

I am writing to you today in response to comments made by Andrew Bell, chairman of Noia, quoted in the business section of the June 22nd edition of The Telegram (“Group urges faster environmental assessments”) regarding further expansion of offshore oil and gas development, environmental assessment and the role that has been played by the Canada-newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (CNLOPB).

I quote from the article: “Andrew Bell said the CNLOPB is doing a great job.” “He said the environmental concerns are nothing to worry about.” And, “‘There’s no cutting corners. We’re not going to allow that. CNLOPB won’t allow that,’ Bell said.”

Memorial University seabird researcher Bill Montevecchi, in this same article, said he feels that the CNLOPB, with its dual roles as both regulator and promoter of this industry, is essentially in a conflict of interest.

I’d like to draw readers’ attention to a news release dated May 16, 2017 regarding legal action being taken against that very CNLOPB for reissuing an exploration licence to Corridor Resources Inc. to continue work in the Old Harry region in the Gulf of St. Lawrence:

“This licence was issued in 2008 with an explicit nine-year cap that prohibits further extensions This licence should have expired in January. Despite this very clear legal constraint, the board unlawfully replaced Corridor’s old licence on Jan. 15, 2017.

“The government should be following its own rules, not making exceptions for oil companies that put communities and ecosystems in harm’s way,” said an Ecojustice lawyer pursuing this case on behalf of several large environmental groups.

I read a quote somewhere that says “Nature’s rules are non-negotiable,” and yet we continue in the face of glaring examples of rising sea levels, melting ice caps, etc., to forge ahead in the pursuit of profits from a non-renewable resource and, in the process ignore many of those rules.

There was a recent interview on the CBC Radio program “The Broadcast” with a former oil and gas engineer who quit the industry and now works for a nonprofit organization promoting the development of renewable energy. She made the statement from the perspective of continuing long-term employment projects, such as the development of wind power, which makes eminent sense. The infrastructure will need maintenance and, incidentally, Newfoundland — and particularly Labrador — are the best sites in North America.

Once the oil is gone, what will we have left, other than these continuing cycles of boom and bust?

So, do I have the same confidence in the environmental assessment and regulation process in place here in Newfoundland and Labrador as Andrew Bell? I’m afraid I’m with Bill Montevecchi on this one.

But who is going to pay attention to me? Certainly not the decision-makers.

Patricia Ploughman St. John’s