NL: Can oil justify danger to caribou in Parsons Pond?
By Aaron Beswick, Transcontinental Media
Source: Northern Pen
[PARSON'S POND, NL] - No one was against drilling for oil at a public meeting held in Parsons Pond last Tuesday, but the route of a proposed access road drew strong criticism.
An Alberta-based exploration company, Leprechaun Resources Ltd., has filed an undertaking with the Department of Environment, requesting permission to build a 10.4 km access road running from Five Mile Road across feeder gulch to access two proposed experimental drilling locations. The third proposed place for drilling can be accessed from Five Mile Road. The proposed road runs between two locations marked as “sensitive” caribou habitat by provincial government maps.
The public meeting, which wasn’t attended by a representative of Leprechaun Resources, was called by Parsons Pond Town Council to discuss the proposal.
Parsons Pond Mayor Brenda Biggin shows the map of a proposed access road to two exploratory oil drilling locations. The road passes near a ‘sensitive caribou’ area and is unpopular with some. Northern Pen photo.
“I see the interest as a good thing for the area,” Mayor Brenda Biggin told the approximately 70 people who filled the small meeting room. “I was told that if we were in favour of the project we’d better contact the Department of Environment and tell them why we think it’s good. The concern is that the road will give easier access, but I think both sides can work in harmony. We’re not talking about destroying the area, we’re talking about putting a road in.”
When asked, no one indicated they had written to support the project.
Outfitter Roger Keough was the first member of the public to address the crowd. “I have no objection to oil development, but we have put a lot of money into this community. Over the past two years we’ve lost 90 per cent of our caribou licences and have had to lay off four guides and a cook,” said Keough, a member of the provincial outfitters association, which wrote a letter requesting a new route for the access road. “Caribou has put a lot more meals on plates in Parsons Pond than oil has.”
Keough’s opinion received applause. Others at the meeting who have worked in the Western Canadian oil industry raised questions as to whether roads disturb caribou.
Robbie Coles has worked in Northern Alberta for four years, where there are caribou, and he recommended the use of rig mats - steel and wood plating that is laid over the ground after freeze-up and removed in the spring. “Three wells is only short-term work - if they don’t hit oil then they won’t need a permanent road,” said Coles. “I support the exploration so long as there isn’t too much damage done to the area. We use rig mats all the time in Alberta and they do the trick, causing a minimal amount of damage.”
When contacted by the Pen, Leprechaun Resources president John Maher explained that his company is looking at rig mats, among other options. “We’re trying to design the roads with minimal impact on the environment - just a road or trail big enough to get the rig in to the location,” said Maher. “We’re waiting for the snow to go and maybe then we could refine the road layout.”
He estimated that “the better half of a hundred” people would be employed over the six months of drilling, though many of them wouldn’t come from the area. The company is in the process of getting approval from the Department of Environment and if they’re allowed, Maher said drilling could begin in early fall.
For her part, Crystal Smith ended the meeting by standing and saying, “I look around and only see a handful of young people. And that’s because there’s only a handful of young people left. For myself, oil won’t make a difference, but it will for the young. I think people want some hope and the exploration has given them hope.”
https://www.dailybusinessbuzz.ca/2009/05/19/nl-can-oil-justify-danger-to-caribou-in-parsons-pond/