Fraccing decisions in Quebec raise questions about B.C.’s approach

On Tuesday, Quebec's Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE) recommended a pause on hydraulic fracturing for shale gas in the province until the potential health and environmental impacts are better understood. Shortly after that release, the Quebec government concurred.

The main reason cited for the pause is that the gaps in understanding the impacts of "fracking" are significant. As reported in the Montreal Gazette, the BAPE report found that "for certain fundamental questions, the answers are only partial or nonexistent."

In the face of such uncertainty for something as fundamental as clean water, it seems entirely reasonable that the government and citizens of Quebec would want more information before making a decision about the place — if any — shale gas should have in Quebec's economy. The provincial government still clearly wants to find a way to develop the industry, but they deserve credit for not rushing into the decision blindly.

The questions and gaps are similar to those being addressed by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study that is scheduled for completion in 2012. According to the study's research plan :

The overarching goal of this research is to answer the following questions:

• Can hydraulic fracturing impact drinking water resources?
• If so, what are the conditions associated with the potential impacts on drinking water resources due to hydraulic fracturing activities?

And that's not to say that concerns about drinking water are the only gaps. The same study plan goes on to say:

EPA recognizes that there are important potential research areas related to hydraulic fracturing other than those involving drinking water resources, including effects on air quality, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem impacts, seismic risks, public safety concerns, occupational risks, and economic impacts. These topics are outside the scope of the current study, but should be examined in the future.

With these fundamental gaps, it's encouraging to see the EPA at least studying them and Quebec going a step further to prevent any hydraulic fracturing until the gaps are addressed. Hopefully they will be given the scope, resources and independence to provide satisfactory answers to the questions they've been asked to address.

What about British Columbia?  Continue reading this article on the Pembina website by clicking here.