February 15th, 2014

On March 3, 2014 By peiislanderIn Letters to EditorLeave a comment

Yesterday’s Guardian story on the Standing Committee meeting with Minister Sherry:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-02-14/article-3615107/No-decision-has-been-made-on-deep-well-irrigation%3A-Sherry/1 (full text at end)
It contains an unfortunate error in that the oft-quoted “154 Olympic swimming pools of water is the recharge rate” is listed for a square inch, not kilometre. If it were inch, then perhaps we could support dozens and dozens and dozens of wells, or be waterlogged like poor Great Britain.

I believe, quoting Mr. Raymond another time, it is:

“An Olympic size pool holds 2,500 cubic meters. The average annual recharge to groundwater on PEI for a square kilometeris ~385,000 cubic meters each year.

385,000 / 2,500 = 154 pools”.

Note that the figure quoted is an average for the entire Island. I am not sure how extensively they measured across the island to be so absolutely confident of that average. But taking that number, one can divide the amount by the area to get the total depth that represents and it is 38 cm (or a little over a foot) of “recharge” over any particular point of land over the course of a year. (I think)

———-

CBC has a poll on their website:
“Should the moratorium on deep-water irrigation wells be lifted?” You can participate here (it is in the middle of the article):

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/deep-water-well-impact-still-needs-study-1.2536935
———-

A letter from yesterday:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-02-14/article-3615933/Thirsty-producers-always-want-more/1
Thirsty producers always want more
Published on February 14, 2014 in The Guardian
Editor:
Potato producers wish to drain the water on P.E.I. They are thirsty with greed with no respect for the residents who expect to live off the ground water we already have.
They are selfish. Their own desire for wealth must come first. They are not satisfied with the rain the good Lord sends. That proves their attitude.
No doubt they are in the minority on P.E.I. I am sure most growers using common sense are satisfied. No one can change the weather patterns. Our water is too important to fool with.
Brendon Flood,
South Melville

———-
and the lead article from yesterday, with a few things in bold by me:

No decision has been made on deep-well irrigation: Sherry
by Teresa Wright
published on February 14th, 2014

Environment Minister Janice Sherry, centre, spoke to a committee of MLAs on the issue of deep-well irrigation Thursday. Joining her were the provincial director of environment Jim Young, left, and Bruce Raymond, right, manager of watershed planning for the province.
Environment Minister Janice Sherry says government has made no decisions on deep-well irrigation and the moratorium will not be lifted unless itʼs proven it will not diminish the quantity or quality of P.E.I.ʼs groundwater.

Sherry was in the hot seat Tuesday at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry.
She said the question of whether to lift the current moratorium on deep-water wells for irrigation has become a leading issue and that she has received a lot of impassioned feedback from Islanders.
She said she welcomes a “lively debate.”

“As a government, we are listening to what Islanders have to say on this issue. We are listening to what the agricultural industry is telling us,” she said. “You will hear that we have more than enough water to meet our needs. However, that supply must be carefully monitored and managed, That is the issue when it comes to issuing permits for high-capacity wells.”

The issue has become a topic of heated debate, especially after industry giant Cavendish Farms and the P.E.I. Potato Board mounted a full-scale lobby effort several weeks ago. They are pushing for access to deep-water wells to supply potato fields with water for supplemental irrigation.

But environmental groups are raising serious concern over the impacts large-scale agricultural irrigation could have on P.E.I.ʼs groundwater levels. They also worry about potential nitrate contamination.

The committee meeting Thursday saw a packed crowd of concerned Islanders in attendance — a rare occurrence for the normally empty public gallery of the committee chamber. A technical briefing was presented about how P.E.I.ʼs groundwater is managed and scientific data about recharge rates, compiled by the Environment Department. Bruce Raymond, manager of watershed and subdivision planning for the province, said provincial data shows the rate at which P.E.I.ʼs groundwater is replenished every year is quite high.
This recharge rate is equal to 154 Olympic-sized swimming pools for every square inch of the Island, he told the committee.
Raymond also said only seven per cent of water available for extraction within environmental regulations is being used.

But when the time for questions came, Opposition MLAs were mainly interested in the politics of the issue.
Opposition Leader Steven Myers asked Sherry who first suggested the moratorium be lifted.
She said the request came from the potato board. “Whatʼs been told to me by many, many people, too many to think itʼs not true, is that

government went to the potato board and said, ʻHey you should ask for this because weʼll probably give it to youʼ,” Myers said.
“Absolutely not,” Sherry replied.
Agriculture Critic Colin LaVie questioned Sherry on the involvement of the premierʼs former chief of staff, Chris LeClair, and former Liberal MLA Cynthia King. The two were hired to help the potato board lobby in favour of deep-water wells.
He asked whether the Environment Department paid them.
Sherry firmly denied this, saying Cavendish Farms hired LeClair and King to educate people** about high-capacity wells.
“I donʼt have a role to play in that, thatʼs totally a private business hiring someone to provide a service for them. Thatʼs got nothing to do with government,” Sherry said.
“When you talk about educate, is this process already done?” LaVie asked.
Sherry stressed that nothing has gone before cabinet on this issue and that all opinions and data are continuing to be assessed.
“We need informed discussions. We need facts. We need science. We need to build a consensus around this issue and I can assure the members of this committee that the views of all Islanders will be taken into account before a decision is made.”
twright@theguardian.pe.ca Twitter.com/GuardianTeresa

**I guess the MLAs getting private meetings are the ones who are getting educated?
———-

February 14th, 2014

On March 3, 2014March 3, 2014 By peiislanderIn Government PolicyLeave a comment

Regarding the government’s acknowledgement of concerns about high capacity wells:

The Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry met yesterday for the first of several meetings to hear about this issue. Their first guests were the Environment Minister and two of her staff, the division of Environment chief Jim Young, and the person in charge of Watershed and Subdivision Planning, Bruce Raymond, who it appears presented some of the powerpoint presentation he gave to the Federation of Agriculture a couple of weeks ago (and is found here: Water Extraction Policy and Background http://www.gov.pe.ca/environment/water-extraction )

From Compass, last night, 4:15 into the program:
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/PEI/ID/2436939369/
Minister Sherry says the agriculture industry needs to explain why they want the water. (This seems obvious to most of us.)
She says her department would not lift the moratorium if they thought it would be detrimental to the quantity and quality of water, or if it would have negative impacts on aquatic habitats. “Certainly we don’t have all the science in the area.”

A tip of the hat to Committee Chairperson Paula Biggar being interested in this issue and making time for it and the groups that want to address it. The Coalition for the Protection of PEI Water, made up of representatives of many Island Groups, will be presenting at the next meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday, February 27th, 1:30PM, if you want to attend that day.

Minister Sherry has been responding to most e-mails sent to her by Islanders and groups with concerns on the subject with this exact response (bolding mine):
(To the writer:)
Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding water extraction and high capacity wells.

Islanders’ opinions on this issue are important and I appreciate your taking the time to contact me. PEI’s water resources are very valuable and I believe that we must protect them, ensuring that the environment is sustainable.

Government has not made a decision regarding high capacity wells for agricultural irrigation and any decision made will be science-based, ensuring the protection of our drinking and surface water resources and aquatic habitat.

Again, thank you for your letter of concern which, along with others, will be considered prior to government making any decision on this issue.
(Minster Sherry)

I am not quite sure I understand exactly what the bolded line means as far as what government is thinking at this point.
———-

February 13th, 2014

On March 3, 2014 By peiislanderIn Letters to EditorLeave a comment

Today is the first Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry regarding the high capacity well issue.
1:30PM, Coles Building (Pope Room). Coles is the red brick building to the east of Province House; the doorway is off Richmond Street, the steps going up to the main floor. There are seats for the public in the room where are right behind the committee members and presenters seated at tables.

From the notice:
The committee will receive a briefing on the subject of deep well irrigation from Hon. Janice Sherry, Minister of Environment, Labour and Justice and Attorney General; Jim Young, Director of Environment; and Bruce Raymond, Manager of Watershed and Subdivision Planning.

It is a little weird that the Minister and her people are coming to explain the issue to another set of MLAs, and it will be the Committee that will likely send a recommendation to lift or not lift the moratorium to that same Minister and Cabinet.

It should be interesting, and being there will show public interest in this issue, if it’s convenient to get there. The meeting is likely to go until 3 or 3:30, but the public can come and go as they please.

———-
Margie Loo’s letter was squeezed into an edition of the paper two weeks ago, and bears repeating here (bolding is mine):
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-01-30/article-3596350/More-pressure-on-environment/1

More pressure on environment
Letters to the Editor (The Guardian)
Published on January 30, 2014
By Margie Loo (a reader’s view)

(An open letter to my MLA and the minister of environment)
I have been watching the discussion about lifting of the moratorium on deep-water irrigation wells with concern. I have listened as Gary Linkletter, chairman of the Potato Board, assures us there is ample water for everyone. I have also heard Daryl Guignion, a former biologist at UPEI, express great concern about taking more water from our aquifers.

Mr. Linkletter assures us the province has done an evaluation of our groundwater and that we only use an average of two per cent of the annual recharge. I wonder what conditions that two per cent is based on. Was it a year when the streams were drying up, and the City of Charlottetown was asking residents to limit water use? Obviously the years when irrigation is needed are the same years that the aquifers are unusually low.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. There are other things that make P.E.I.ʼs environment unique. We have very sandy soil.
We all know what happens when it rains on exposed soils; our waterways turn red. What we donʼt see is the agricultural chemicals and fertilizers leaching down into the groundwater. We assume our deep-water aquifers have not yet been affected too much by nitrates but as this pristine deep water gets pumped out the more contaminated shallow groundwater will move down to refill them.

The spectre of nitrate contamination spreading rapidly throughout our water supply should be a great concern for all of us.
We donʼt know to what degree the shallow aquifers and the deep aquifers are connected to each other. If they were connected then we would expect that groundwater would be drawn down to recharge the deep aquifers during irrigation impacting household wells in the area. These domestic wells are in the shallow aquifers and with a dropping water table during dry summers many more homeowners will be forced to drill deeper wells. This is not a new problem as anyone digging wells can tell you. Who will be responsible for the cost of these new wells?

P.E.I. consists of fractured sandstone bedrock which creates unique challenges. This is significant because our underground aquifers do not flow in predictable ways. No one knows how drilling more deep wells will affect water moving though the bedrock.
There has not been a comprehensive study done of the hydrogeology of Prince Edward Island. Researchers from the Universities of Calgary and Guelph have only recently begun the first such study on P.E.I.

As a farmer myself I understand the challenge potato farmers face, however I also know there are other ways of solving this problem. For example it is well known that soil that has ample organic matter can withstand long stretches of dry weather. Adding irrigation systems to land in potato production is going to increase the pressure to plant cash crops more often leading to greater depletion of organic matter, not to mention the eventual salinization of soil. What is being proposed is really large-scale hydroponic production whereby the health of soils no longer matters at all.

Yes, potato production moves a lot of money though the Island economy. This isnʼt the whole picture. The cost to other sectors of the Island community must also be considered.

Farther, remember that deep-water irrigation wells do not ensure success for potato growers or take the uncertainty out of potato production. Potato production depends market demand, and this is something that P.E.I. producers canʼt control.
We do know however that allowing more deep wells certainly will put more pressure on P.E.I.ʼs environment.

Margie Loo of Elderflower Organic Farm, Belfast RR 3, is a pioneer in organic farming practices on P.E.I.

You can chat with her any Saturday at her booth at the Farmers’ Market in Charlottetown.

February 12th, 2014

On March 3, 2014 By peiislanderIn Letters to EditorLeave a comment

Martha Howatt and Peter Bower, who to me represent all the hard-working volunteers on watershed associations, made time to write this clear message:

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-02-11/article-3611597/Questions-remain-on-deep-water-wells/1

Questions remain on deep-water wells
Letters to the Editor (The Guardian)
Published on February 11, 2014

Editor:
Gary Schneider, Dale Small, Daryl Guignion, Roger Gordon, Dr. Ian MacQuarrie, Shannon Mader, Margie Loo and Todd Dupuis have each written accurate, informed, and focused opinions that have appeared recently in The Guardian on the subject of deep-water wells.
These names are among those of the professionals whose expertise we seek when our watershed organizations apply for provincial funding and other grants. These are the names the government wants to see on our applications. They can make the difference between approval and rejection. These are the kinds of professionals who are in the streams and rivers observing water run off and erosion, anoxic events and associated fish kills from excessive nitrates, and estuaries dying from the spread of sea lettuce.
We cannot add any information they havenʼt provided from their many years of involvement in these issues near and dear to all of us, but we can add what they have to say is borne out by our years of work on our watersheds.

Nevertheless, we do have questions, including how will the noise, smell and sight of massive diesel pumps sitting in fields affect tourism? Will taxpayers again be subsidizing some farmers for drilling and purchasing the necessary equipment because it is doubtful that they will offset these costs by increased potato production? Is there any way to estimate the quantity of water that will be drawn from these wells?
The deep-well promoters and lobbyists maintain the farmers involved are concerned about the Islandʼs water resources. It is an understatement to point out we are all concerned, including the NFU which suggests that there may be alternatives.

We can only hope the lifting of the moratorium is not a done deal. The government must have meaningful and thorough public consultations. Letʼs take the time necessary to hold public meetings so Islanders are given the chance to absorb and understand the scientific evidence, to hear all sides, and to participate in a dialogue.

Our futures are at stake.

Martha Howatt, co-chair,
Peter Bower, chair,
South Shore Watershed Association
———

South Shore Watershed Association is a cooperative effort of four watersheds, west of the West River — Augustine Cove, DeSable, Tryon and Westmoreland. http://www.sswa.ca/

In addition to all they do in meeting rooms and on the rivers’ edges, they have a great website, with little jewels like this two-page leaflet about “What is a watershed?”:
http://www.sswa.ca/education/what-is-a-watershed/

and this link to a charming and informative 48-page out-of-print booklet on PEI’s water (it feels a bit old since it has hand-drawings, not clipart):
http://www.sswa.ca/education/water-on-prince-edward-island/

February 11th, 2014

On March 3, 2014 By peiislanderIn OpinionsLeave a comment

Federal and provincial thoughts:

From David Suzuki, and worth sharing:

(Today) is Budget Day in Canada. It’s when the federal government lays out its plans for your money– which programs and services it will introduce or expand and which it will cut or shut down.

Budgets are about choices–choices about what kind of country we are and what kind of things we value as a society. So while a lot of coverage will focus on what is or isn’t in this year’s budget, it’s important to look at this federal budget as a continuation in a long line of choices. So let’s ask: “What choices have been made so far?”

Clearly, the answers aren’t good.

» 1.5 billion in cuts to the environment by 2016.
» 5 oil spill response offices closed across Canada.
» 8.4% cut to rail transportation safety.
» 99% of rivers and lakes now exempt from federal regulations.
» $56 million in cuts to Canada’s food inspection system.
» 35 government libraries closed.
» More than 5,000 job losses at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada, Fisheries and Oceans and » Agriculture Canada over the next three years.
» Over $298 million in government advertising since 2009-2010.
» » » » » All while federal fossil fuel subsidies add up to more than $1.38 billion.

These budget choices paint a picture, and it doesn’t look good for the health of our communities and the people and places we love.

(The) federal budget will represent another set of choices about what kind of Canada we are leaving for our children and generations of children yet to come.

———-
And he is only discussing scientific and environmental choices!
———-

Later this week, the first of several Thursday afternoon provincial legislative committee meetings regarding the high capacity well issue is taking place:

Thursday, February 13, 2014 Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry
1:30PM Coles Building – Pope Room

Topic: The committee will receive a briefing on the subject of deep well irrigation from Hon. Janice Sherry, Minister of Environment, Labour and Justice and Attorney General; Jim Young, Director of Environment; and Bruce Raymond, Manager of Watershed and Subdivision Planning.

These are open to the public as spectators, as those of you who attended ones in previous years regarding Plan B or fracking know; the public sits off to one side and is expected to be quiet.

This committee is not meeting next Thursday, February 20th, but they are on the 27th, when the Citizens’ Alliance and the group it help form regarding this issue will have a few minutes before the committee. (The group is called the Coalition for the Protection of PEI Waters, and has representatives from most of the Island groups opposed to the moratorium being lifted.)

February 9th, 2014

On March 3, 2014March 3, 2014 By peiislanderIn Letters to EditorLeave a comment

So much stuff! Here are two good letters from week before last, and the link to the presentation by the Department of Environment, Labour and Justice on the water extraction policy.

From biologist Dr. Roger Gordon:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-01-30/article-3596348/Minister-should-not-give-in-to-potato-lobby/1

Minister should not give in to potato lobby
Letters to the Editor (The Guardian)
Published on January 30, 2014
By Roger Gordon (Letter of the Day)

Our Minister of the Environment has shown poor leadership, not to mention patronizing attitude, by inviting the industry-inspired potato lobby group to educate Islanders on the merits of deep-water wells for irrigation purposes.
Now, Gary Linkletter has started this education remit with a treatise (Guardian, 25 Jan. – Guest Opinion) that attempts to explain the case for allowing corporate farming to access this precious water source by citing in the name of science conclusions from a government report. Is this the same report that the minister said would not be made available to the public, because it “was sent to me?”
So, it is hidden science. It is also science that obfuscates rather than clarifies. Mr. Linkletter makes no distinction between the shallower aquifers currently in public use and the deep-water source that would be accessed. We are given no information on the methodology used to form the conclusions. Respected environmental scientist Daryl Guignion believes there is insufficient scientific knowledge about the size and replenishment rate of the deep-water source to warrant lifting the moratorium. I agree.
Mr. Linkletter makes no mention of the quality of the deep water that he and his group would like to access. And for good reason.
The mindset of the agro sector toward industrial-scale production of potatoes, a low-value farm gate crop, has resulted in pesticide contamination of our rivers as well as high nitrate levels in surface and ground waters. The 2008 provincial Commission on Nitrates in Groundwater reported that as of 2007, an astounding 17 per cent of private wells surveyed were above or close to the safety limit for nitrates.
Aside from the fact most of the water will be wasted through evaporation, irrigation of heavily contaminated fields will speed up the leaching of agro-chemicals through the soil into our drinking water supply. And we are the only province in Canada totally dependent on groundwater. What is needed is not more potatoes, more pesticides, more fertilizers, but fewer potatoes, a more diversified agro-economy, with less reliance on toxicants. Water is a resource that belongs to the people of the province, not a sector of it. The minister should just say no to this irresponsible request.

Roger Gordon, Stratford, is a retired biologist and former Dean of Science at UPEI

———-

And from Wendy Budgeon:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-01-29/article-3595307/Debate-not-needed-on-deep-wells-issue/1

Debate not needed on deep wells issue
Letters to the Editor (The Guardian)
Published on January 29, 2014

Editor:
I am absolutely dismayed at the debate over deep-water wells. What is there to debate? Our province depends on groundwater for life. Our children and grandchildren will be in bigger need of it than we are now.
How can our government even consider bargaining away our future for a handful of spuds? I have listened to the rhetoric on both sides and believe strongly in no more deep-water wells.
The potato industry would have us believe the science supports them. The only study I am aware of is almost a decade old. We cannot mortgage our future on 10-year-old science. Ten years ago the City of Charlottetown would have told you there was no water problem. We now know differently. Todayʼs science would have a different outcome as well I bet.
Please make your opinions known. Please donʼt believe 10-year-old science. Please save our childrenʼs and grandchildrenʼs water.
If potato farmers need more water then maybe they should be looking at desalination plants. But they wonʼt. Itʼs too expensive and the government couldnʼt help so much. So maybe there needs to be a dialog about truly treasuring the land and water not just about increasing yields and money.
P.E.I. could be a world leader in farm practices . . . instead we are just followers of dollars.

Wendy Budgeon,
Charlottetown

———-

And if you want to view the presentation from the Environment Department person given to the Federation of Agriculture last week, go here:

http://www.gov.pe.ca/environment/water-extraction

for a choice of the presentation on water extraction, the presentation with background slides, and the policy from the department.

To Frack or not to Frack…

On March 3, 2014March 3, 2014 By peiislanderIn OpinionsLeave a comment

This is an article written by Jack MacAndrew submitted to the Maritime publication Rural Delivery (DvL Publishing) and printed in the January/February 2014 issue, which I just received; and I reprint here, with Jack’s permission:

TOO FRACK OR NOT TO FRACK:

THAT IS THE QUESTION

by Jack MacAndrew

“Fracking” – No , it is not a euphemism for another “F” word not usually employed in polite company, or in a family magazine such as this.

It is, in fact , a made-up word – a grammatical invention, so to speak, conjured up as a bit of technospeak to describe a process by which natural gas may be extracted from the depths of planet earth, to the benefit of anyone who cooks their food, drives an automobile and huddles for wintertime warmth; not to exclude shareholders in multi-national energy companies who may get unspeakably rich from this resource belonging to all of us.

We have always had this habit of adding the letters “ing” to a noun, so as to turn it into a verb: as in fish-fishing, truck-trucking, helicopter – helicoptering.

In the case of fracking, there is no noun. There is no such a thing as a frack; no animal, vegetable or mineral known as a frack. You can’t see one, touch one or box one to send off to grandma on her birthday. Fracking, is a total grammatical invention, invented so you don’t need to keep saying – ” hydraulic fracturing”- which can give you a headache if you say it often enough.

There is just – ” fracking “; and for many ( for instance,those farmers in Ohio owning those cows whose tails began to drop off), that is fearsome enough.

There are a lot of people in Atlantic Canada who don’t want big energy companies from away to come fracking down here, no matter what economic puffery and job projections the politicians and proponents offer as bait.

Indeed a recent poll tells us that about 70 per cent of Atlantic Canadians are ag’in it.

In Nova Scotia , the legislature has placed a similar restriction on fracking activity, at least until an independent committee verifies “…there is no risk to drinking water, human health, the climate or communities”.

That is a very steep hill for proponents to climb. The committee will report back to government some time in 2014.

Newfoundland/Labrador has responded with the same sort of stance; and in Quebec, a moratorium has been in place for some time.

There’s a ban in place in Massachusetts, and New York State, and in France as well.

But not in New Brunswick, as you may have noticed in your newspaper or on television newscasts lately.

Nosireebob… not in your New Brunswick. The government of that fair and picturesque province (“The Picture Province”, I believe it is nicknamed in tourist advertisements ) has turned over 1.4 million acres of its land mass to the subsidiary of an American owned company (Southwestern Energy) called SWN Resources Canada so it may zip about in large white trucks sinking test drills and using other seismic technology wherever it believes the underearth may secrete pockets of gas in beds of brittle shale rock.

” Get to ‘er lads…”, invited Premier David Aylward, “… fill yer boots !”…all for a promise by the company to spend 47 million dollars in New Brunswick along with the unproven estimate of 1000 jobs and 1.5 billion big ones in economic activity; a price some would argue is merely a contemporary version of selling a birthright for the proverbial bowl of pottage.

And never no mind that more than 60 per cent of herrin’chokers of all political stripes said in a poll they did not want fracking in their province.

That would include members of the Elisipogtog First Nation, who pointed out to the provincial government that it had no business giving SWN permission to bore test holes on their territory ,for a very simple reason-the provincial government does not own that land and has no right to do so without their consent. The aboriginal people have never ceded it to any government under any treaty.

In November, months of peaceful protests ended and the barricades came down with massed and menacing police riot squads facing unarmed women and band elders, and according to one observer” …. shot rubber bullets at the mothers and the grandmothers, at the children”.

The protests were deemed by pundit Rex Murphy “…a rude dismissal of Canada’s generosity …”

The warrior societies sent in their own troops to defend their people on Indian lands.

Then the whole shebang went south in a hurry.

The Prime Minister of Canada condemned the state use of riot squads to disperse and arrest peaceful protesters in the Ukraine.

He was so absorbed watching the massed cops in full riot gear over there, he didn’t seem to notice massed cops in riot gear assaulting women and elders protesting on the Elisipogtog Reserve.

Police cars were burned in reprisal, and more than 40 Aboriginal and Acadien protesters were arrested. Most have since been released . Some are still facing serious charges.

SWN has now packed up its gear and driven away, presumably to some place more receptive to their activity.

But opposition to the fracking of New Brunswick has not gone into hibernation . Instead ,core groups are organizing and expanding the coalition of church groups, environmentalists, and other like minded souls to take on Premier David Aylward when he leads his government to the polls on September 14.

And in the other three Atlantic Provinces, those independent committees will be holding public meetings and reviewing such scientific literature as exists.

Which takes us to an explanation of what hydraulic fracturing (1.e fracking ) is, and what it does, and why it upsets so many people and makes them sick.

Here’s the recipe for what is admittedly a toxic brew.

A slurry of so-called ” Slick-water ” is mixed up in a giant blender. The recipe calls for 90 per cent water; 5 percent sand ; and 5 percent chemical additives (acids , sodium chloride, polyacrylamide, ethylene glycol, borate salts, sodium/potassium carbonate, glutaraldehyde, guar gum, citric acid, and isopropanol, amongst other nasty stuff.

It’s that 5 per cent of chemical additives which can cause a lot of misery should it permeate and pollute water drawn from underground aquifers.

The acid , by the way , is used to make the rock structure more permeable.

That’s a special fear on Prince Edward Island. If you kick a rock in New Brunswick, chances are you’ll break a toe. If you kick a rock in PEI chances are you’ll break the rock. Already permeable sandstone, do you see.

Anyhow, having mixed up your mess of slurry, you then dig a hole in the ground that could be as deep as 6000 metres ( 20,000 feet ), dump it into the hole , and then pump it horizontally into shale rock at a pressure high enough to crack the rock.The slurry then moves further into the shale , fracking away as it goes along , releasing any gas trapped in pockets along the way.

The slurry and the natural gas then flow back up the borehole to the surface, where the millions of litres of slurry ( now termed ” wastewater “) is diverted into plastic lined tanks dug into the earth’s surface , and the gas is channeled into holding tanks.

A new study says that scientists who theorized that layers of impermeable rock would keep shallower aquifers pure are wrong in their conclusions; and that natural forces and fractures underground will allow chemicals to foul groundwater ” ..in just a few years…”.

Nova Scotia has already had that experience.

In 2007 the government issued a permit to Triangle Petroleum, allowing the company to

explore the presence of natural gas in Hants County.Triangle drilled five exploration wells , three of which were fracked. The company used and then stored 14 millions of litres of wastewater in artificial , plastic lined ponds.

Millions of litres of that highly polluted wastewater remains in those ponds.

It contains everything from known carcinogens to radio active material. Nobody knows what to do with the wastewater. Some of it was secretly released into the environment. Some of it has leaked from one of the ponds.

Indeed, the wastewater from fracking poses an enormous environmental problem all by itself.

A report on that experience, entitled ” Out of Control: Nova Scotia’s Experience with Fracking for Shale Gas” ,was prepared by the Nova Scotia Fracking Resource and Action Coalition ( NOFRAC)and released in April of 2013.

It said : ” At this time there is no scientific evidence indicating that any method of disposal of fracking wastewater is environmentally safe “: and that , ” Emerging science is exposing unexpected and serious risks”.

The report posed two choices for government ; press on with a trial-and-error learn as we go approach to shale gas development; or, slow down and look at all the costs and benefits , and especially the reality that if things go wrong , they may be unfixable.

The report notes that some of the effects of fracking may only become evident years later ; after the fracking company is long gone, and it’s responsibility impossible to prove.

The people of Hants County know this better than anyone.

NOFRAC recommended either a ten year moratorium, or an outright ban on fracking.

During the months to come , both sides of the issue will undoubtedly produce volumes of documentation to prove their case .

The anti-frackers will have a rich record to draw on .

In Blackpool, England, a fracking company named Cuadrilla Resources admits : ” It is highly probable that the hydraulic fracturing ( of a well ) did trigger a number of minor seismic events”- in other words – mini-earthquakes.

In Louisiana seventeen cows died after an hour’s exposure to spilled fracking fluid; in Pennsylvania, 140 cattle were exposed to fracking wastewater when an impoundment was breached and 70 of them died while the others got sick;in Hickory , Pennsylvania , Darrell Smitsky got rashes on his body from exposure to toluene, acrylonitrite, strontium , barium and manganese;and in Washington County , Stacey Haney’s dog and goats died, while her son and daughter suffered stomach and kidney pain along with nausea and mouth ulcers. Glycol and arsenic will do that to you.

The incidence of human and livestock ailments after exposure to fracking fluid and/or wastewater is extensive.

The case for fracking can only be expressed in vague, ambiguous forecasts, and promises made according to complex economic models.

The case becomes a spin doctor’s challenge.

It’s hard to convince people of an economic nirvana, when the other side counters with documented horror stories of individual suffering.

Which by itself raises an essential question – on which side does the burden of proof rest – with the frackers ,to guarantee no harm will result to people , their animals or the environment on the road to economic benefit; or the anti-frackers , maintaining there is no safe way to exploit the reserves of shale gas under our feet; and no particular need to do so in any case.

And this question emerges – We now know what happens when we send noxious gases skyward. So what does it do to the underearth environment when hundreds or thousands of explosions take place underground in a few hectares of land mass ?

We do not know with any certainty , and the penalty we would pay for challenging and changing the very foundations of planet earth evolved over eons of time – could be severe and irreversible.

The anti-fracking crowd will document hundreds of cases of visible harm; from benzene in the bathwater to cows without tails in the barnyard.

There is that matter of “unintended consequences”, should the energy companies frack away to their bankers’ joy .

And if they come at the expense of farmers and country people, what recourse will there have when the well goes sour and the water is undrinkable for them or their livestock?
———-

**The one fact I am not sure of is legislation this spring in the PEI Legislature about fracking, based on Minister Sherry’s comments from a couple of weeks ago.

I would also mention that Rural Delivery, if you haven’t ever read a copy, is a great publication (as are the sister publicationsAtlantic Forestry, etc.)
The website is here, with older stories, but new monthly or bi-monthly issues are available at the feed stores and some bookstores. It’s quite a good connection about people interested in living and working in their communities.
http://www.rurallife.ca/

Can you see a pattern?

On March 3, 2014 By peiislanderIn Opinions2 Comments

Sometimes charts help you see patterns.

Repeating History

event	Plan B	High Capacity Wells
Department and Minister responsible	Transportation, Vessey	Environment, Sherry
Minister punts to	Stantec consulting	PEI Potato Board
which	writes, and then retracts, approval of Plan B	Says it’s not their job, but is part of team with Cavendish Farms hiring former MLAs/Premier’s staff as consultants
and that results in	dozens and dozens of letters from concerned, articulate Islanders	dozens and dozens of letters from concerned, articulate Islanders
Minister’s spokesperson duties shifted to	Steven Yeo, chief engineer	Bruce Raymond, manager of watershed planning
who says	Plan B is needed for safety. It will meet or exceed TAC Standards	There is capacity for “dozens and dozens and dozens of wells.”

February 6th, 2014

On March 3, 2014March 3, 2014 By peiislanderIn Letters to EditorLeave a comment

Today’s Guardian covers the involvement of lobbyists in the high capacity well issue.
Yesterday was a meeting of the Legislative Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry. They were just supposed to plan the schedule for requests for presentations from groups concerned about high capacity wells. It sounds like the PC Opposition (which is different then one of them first said) *did* meet with the lobbyists, but not Mr. Chris LeClair (Premier Ghiz’s former chief of staff). The bolding is mine:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-02-05/article-3604792/Call-for-lobbyists-to-testify-leads-to-fiery-debate/1

Call for lobbyists to testify leads to fiery debate
by Teresa Wright
printed in The Guardian on February 6th, 2014
A fiery meeting of MLAs on the contentious issue of deep-water irrigation wells ended Wednesday with a majority vote against calling two politically connected lobbyists to testify.
Opposition MLA Colin LaVie wanted the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry to call the premierʼs former chief of staff, Chris LeClair, and former Liberal MLA Cynthia King to appear.
The two have been hired by the Potato Board and Cavendish Farms to co-ordinate meetings with as many provincial MLAs as possible to lobby in favour of lifting the current moratorium on irrigation wells.
LaVieʼs request led to a heated exchange between government and Opposition MLAs Wednesday, especially when it came to light LeClair did not attend meetings with the Tory caucus or with Independent MLA Olive Crane, but did atend meetings with Liberal MLAs.
“They didnʼt see fit to attend our (meeting). Why?” said Opposition MLA James Aylward.
“I think this committee, Islanders in general, deserve to know what these lobbyists are doing, what their agenda is.”
Liberal backbencher Kathleen Casey argued calling the P.E.I. Potato Board to the committee would suffice, since the board was one of the parties that engaged LeClair.
Liberal MLA Pat Murphy accused the Tories of playing politics on the issue of deep-water wells, which he said is a “very important issue to the province.”
But Opposition Leader Steven Myers frequently interrupted them.
“He was the premierʼs right-hand-man, heʼs lobbying on behalf of the potato industry, letʼs have him here,” he said.
“Does having Chris LeClair involved with this give whoever it is thatʼs lobbying for deep water wells… a direct line to the decision maker of this province. Thatʼs the question.
“It just screams political interference. I donʼt know why you wouldnʼt want to know if someone is trying to directly influence the premier.”
The only Liberal MLA who supported the idea of calling the two to testify was Buck Watts, who said he felt it was the only way they could clarify their roles and not continue to polarize the committee.
“After hearing the way this meeting is starting out, I think we should bring Cynthia King and Chris LeClair in to clear their name and find out exactly what they were doing, why they were doing it… who were they hired by, who were they paid by, whatʼs their reason for doing it,” Watts said.
“Weʼre going to be into a bloody mess all through if we donʼt get this straightened out off the bat, get this cleaned up, get this off the plate.”
But in the end, the request was denied in a vote of 4-3, with Watts voting with LaVie and Aylward. Casey, Murphy, Bush Dumville and Hal Perry defeated the motion.
After the meeting, LaVie said he believes the Liberals on the committee were the ones playing politics.
“Itʼs another sign theyʼve got something to hide,” he said.
“Theyʼre making a political issue out of it, and they said in the meeting they didnʼt want to make it political – then put them at the table. Let us hear it.”
The committee did, however agree to LaVieʼs request to call Environment Minister Janice Sherry to appear. The committee will further be delving into the hot-button issue of deep well irrigation for the next two months, with weekly meetings planned until the end of March.
After that, public consultations will be held to ensure all Islanders have the chance to voice their opinions.

———-

And finally, in a sea of well-crafted, heartfelt letters about this high capacity well issue, this evocative one:

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-02-05/article-3603960/Using-more-water-won%26rsquo%3Bt-help-matters/1

Using more water wonʼt help matters
Letters to the Editor (The Guardian)
Published on February 05, 2014

Editor:
More water, more potatoes, more environmental degradation.
Since the science says P.E.I.ʼs deep- water supply can grow more potatoes, whatʼs the guarantee it will be done more safely to enhance the environment?
And why hasnʼt science disproven the theory that what weʼre growing and how weʼre growing it may be connected to P.E.I.ʼs high cancer rate?
Weʼve been told for years that growing more potatoes, like catching more lobsters, results in lower prices in the marketplace where we are a mere drop in the bucket, compared to Idaho and Western Canada where soils are rich and deep.
Using more water wonʼt change farming methods. Choosing to use more water to mitigate poor farming practices wonʼt work to enhance worn out soil, and improve the environment everyone shares.
Letʼs ask some basic questions here of our government or any other party that wants to form one:
– How will pumping more water to grow 30,000 more acres of potatoes stop environmental degradation?
– How will 30,000 acres more make P.E.I. a better place to be in 2103 when weʼre all gone and weʼve left the mess to families following us?
– What ever happened to the Liberal philosophy of Canadaʼs youngest premier in 1966 who said “the faster we go, the more behinder weʼll get”? Alex Campbell was 32 and just last month Premier Robert Ghiz turned 40. I think our premier needs to talk with Alex soon about a vision that hasnʼt become a reality to make P.E.I. stronger, and a better place to live.
We must become more than just a province where former Islanders come home to retire and then die, in a dying environment.
In this small Island heaven, weʼve got to get our furrows “straighter” before we “drift” any further.
Lorne Yeo,
Argyle Shore

February 4th, 2014

On March 3, 2014March 3, 2014 By peiislanderIn Letters to EditorLeave a comment

More about the high capacity wells from yesterday and Monday:

from Compass Monday night, about 6:30 into the broadcast
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/PEI/ID/2434672392/
The executive director of the Federation of Agriculture said a resolution passed at their AGM, saying to lift the ban on these wells only if the scientific data shows that there would not affect water quantity or quality.
They want to see all the studies laid out, and meet with people who have done the work.

The Province says all the science is on the website.
———-

In yesterday’s Guardian, this news story on the front page (copied at the end with my bolding):
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-02-04/article-3602055/Deep-water-wells-in-provinces-hands/1

and here is one of the many outstanding commentary pieces (bolding mine), on the editorial page, by biologists Daryl Guignion and Ian MacQuarrie:

Industry reports of deep-water wells still “opinion, not science.”
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-02-04/article-3602164/Industry-reports-on-deep-water-wells-still-%26lsquo%3Bopinion%2C-not-science%26rsquo%3B/1

The Islandʼs potato industry has prepared a position paper designed to support its request for more access to our groundwater for irrigation. We believe the industryʼs claims need a closer look.
The industry says its competitors — growers in regions such as Washington and Idaho — produce more potatoes per acre than we can here. They say that yields in the western U.S. are increasing annually, and that irrigation is the key to increasing local yields and making P.E.I. competitive with these regions.
The fact is places like Washington and Idaho have many competitive advantages such as longer growing seasons and much deeper topsoil than we have on P.E.I. Irrigation will not change this. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and others have shown that soil quality, especially organic matter, is the key factor in productivity. Because of the land management choices made by P.E.I.ʼs potato industry, our soil quality has gotten worse Island-wide and this decline continues.
The industry says science shows that lifting the moratorium and allowing more irrigation would only use a tiny fraction of the groundwater recharge and would not overburden natural groundwater resources.
The fact is there is as yet no verified science on this. Industry is quoting unpublished and unreviewed reports from a government department and one hired consultant. This is opinion, not science.
Further, it is the opinion of a small group within government. Other government staff — those with expertise in fish, wildlife and wetlands, for example — have not been consulted. Until these reports are released to the public and peer-reviewed by independent experts, they should not be regarded as science.
The industry says additional irrigation would not affect residential or commercial use of groundwater.
The fact is potato production is already affecting Islandersʼ water and additional irrigation could make this worse. In heavily farmed areas of the province — places such as Albany, Borden-Carleton, Lower Freetown, Middleton and Mount Royal, for example — many private wells have nitrate levels higher than Health Canadaʼs guideline.
This nitrate is from chemical fertilizer used by agriculture, and the contamination is getting worse across P.E.I. Additionally, pumping irrigation water from deep underground can pull contaminated water from nearer the surface into the deeper levels. In the short term, homeowners can dig (and pay for) deeper wells. As contamination moves into deeper levels, even that may no longer work.
The industry says irrigation will produce healthier potatoes that require less fertilizer and pesticides. It says that potato growers understand the need to be conscientious stewards of the land and are committed to environmental sustainability.
The fact is past behaviour predicts future behaviour. Consider the potato industryʼs track record of “conscientious stewardship” and “environmental sustainability:”
– Soil erosion rates are more than 10 times higher than those deemed acceptable for agricultural land. More than 60,000 truckloads are lost from P.E.I. farmland into our streams and rivers every year and the situation is not improving.
– Nitrate — chemical fertilizer from farmland — contaminates the majority of private wells on P.E.I., with many above the accepted Canadian drinking water guidelines. This contamination worsens each year.
– Excessive sea lettuce — caused by nitrates — chokes many bays and estuaries, with direct economic impacts on P.E.I.ʼs shellfish and other industries. The stinking conditions that this situation creates are happening earlier and in more areas each year.
– More than 50 fish kills have been reported across P.E.I., including two in the past year. Despite annual Government and industry statements that fish kills are unacceptable, they continue.
– Opposition to action that would address these problems. P.E.I.ʼs potato industry has consistently refused to accept responsibility for these issues.
It is clear that this denial of responsibility continues: their position paper clearly states that industry seeks increased access to water with no new regulatory restrictions beyond the Agricultural Crop Rotation Act. It has been publically reported that many potato producers do not even comply with this Act at present.
We call on government to implement the following before making a decision on industryʼs request:
– Open up governmentʼs opinion on water availability to peer review. This would include the water extraction policy and the models used to develop it.
– Develop a Water Policy for Prince Edward Island that clearly outlines how clean and high-quality water will be provided for current and future generations. Development of this policy requires public consultation.
– Determine and make public the true economic impact of the potato industry on P.E.I. This includes its economic contributions, as well as the clean-up costs currently borne by the public, as well as subsidies and rebates paid to it by taxpayers.
– Establish an Action Group to develop a new Agricultural Strategy which focuses on true economic, social and environmental sustainability.
Daryl Guignion and Ian MacQuarrie are award-winning biologists with many decades of experience in soil, water and ecology.

Deep-water wells in province’s hands
by Steve Sharratt
published on Tuesday, February 4th in The Guardian
A recommendation to lift the current moratorium on deep-water wells is headed to government following unanimous support by the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture.
The resolution by the largest agricultural organization in the province was approved in a closed-door session Friday afternoon and will seek the removal of a 10-year-old moratorium on deep-water wells for agricultural irrigation.
However, the resolution is two-fold, and insists the moratorium removal is based on quality science and a significant water management program to monitor the resource.
“The members gave support to the lifting of the moratorium for supplemental irrigation purposes provided the Department of Environment
has the science to back such a step,ʼʼ said P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture executive director John Jamieson. “Our members recognize water is a public resource and we are all concerned about groundwater.”
Controversy has spiked over the issue of providing permits to farmers who are seeking supplemental irrigation wells to make up for a lack of summer rainfall.
Jamieson said irrigation isnʼt exclusive to potato farms and is sought by those in other horticultural activities from blueberries to flowers.
“Letʼs keep in mind that these irrigation wells arenʼt going to be turned on from May until harvest,ʼʼ he said. “The irrigation is only needed for the few dry spots during the growing season.”
Last year, a lack of rainfall in the central areas of the province impacted everything from carrots to potatoes and farmers say opportunities to irrigate during those dry spells would have prevented crop loss.
The federation annual meeting held Friday heard from provincial watershed manager Bruce Raymond, who said there was ample water supply on P.E.I. and adequate recharge rates as well. However, despite strong water levels, Raymond said all regions of the province could experience different impacts depending on the amount of water extracted.
“The federation resolution also insists that a solid water-extraction policy is implemented and controls where wells are dug and how much is taken …it would have to be resourced managed,ʼʼ said Jamieson.
The resolution, along with others, was approved during a closed-door session of the meeting. In the past, federation resolutions have always been debated in an open session during the annual meeting.