BP granted rights for Mist Mountain CBM project

This just in from CCCBM in Fernie ...

BP granted rights for Mist Mountain CBM project in the heart of the Rockies

Today the BC Government announced that BP received its tenure for their Mist Mountain project. At the same time they announced that Shell has been placed under a 2 year moratorium for their development in Northwestern BC.

Why have they ignored concerned citizens in the Elk Valley and granted BP tenure, yet at the same time they have imposed a two-year moratorium on CBM development in northwestern B.C.? Are our concerns less valid then those in the northwest?

Let BC Premier Gordon Campbell and Minister of Energy and Mines Richard Neufeld know your thoughts on this recent announcement by sending a quick message here - http://www.cccbm.org/take-action-write-e-mail

For more information on this announcement visit this link - http://www.cccbm.org/sad-day-wildlife-province-gives-bp-key-elk-valley

And here's the news release from the Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources. You'll love the title, and the rest of it is a painful piece of language twisted in the service of spin. Sad though. A ten year moratorium on all of it would have meant something. This is just intended to get them through the May election, and it's a cynical reading of the electoral advantage they hope to purchase in the northwest, and don't think they need to buy in the southwest.

NEWS RELEASE
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
For Immediate Release
2008EMPR0070-001843
Dec. 5, 2008

LEADERSHIP SHOWN IN UNCONVENTIONAL GAS DEVELOPMENT

VICTORIA – Shell Canada will take a break in exploration activity in the Klappan and have more discussions with First Nations and the community, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Richard Neufeld announced today.

“Government is facilitating this by specifying no activity for two years,” said Neufeld. “I commend both Shell Canada for showing leadership in making this decision and the Tahltan who have expressed their concerns and their interest in having more information.”

As the Province moves forward and takes another step towards realizing the benefits of the BC Energy Plan, it is awarding tenure to BP Canada for their Mist Mountain Project in the East Kootenay.

The awarding of this tenure follows a comprehensive referral process that included local First Nations, communities and government agencies requesting they provide comments on the tenure and process. Three of the four local governments either supported approval of the tenure, or were neutral, provided best practices in the BC Energy Plan are adopted and followed for the Mist Mountain Project.

“British Columbia has put in place some of the toughest regulations for unconventional gas development in North America, and BP Canada will be bound by those,” said Neufeld. “BP has been engaging communities and other stakeholders in the region to share information and their environmental processes and seek input on their proposed project.”

In recognition of the Flathead Valley’s environmentally sensitive status, the provincial government has not included any land area within the Flathead River Basin.

“The BC Energy Plan states that government would not allow companies to surface discharge produced water from any CBG projects,” said Neufeld. “We’re keeping that commitment.”

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Media Contact:
Jake Jacobs
Public Affairs Officer
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
250 952-0628