https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/letter-to-the-editor/readers-corner-put-offshore-drilling-under-proper-microscope-271730/
READER’S CORNER: Put offshore drilling under proper microscope
Published 2018-12-28
The Campaign to Protect Offshore Nova Scotia (CPONS) is a grassroots
citizens’ advocacy group associated with the Council of Canadians. We
are calling for a full and independent public inquiry into the pros and
cons of oil industry exploration in offshore Nova Scotia. Such an
inquiry would not only study all the research, it would also provide an
opportunity for our communities that bear the lion’s share of the risk
of a disaster in the offshore, to gain a full appreciation of the extent
of that risk and of the steps we can take to minimize it.
Why is a public inquiry needed?
First, the regulation of oil and gas exploration is “industry captured.”
This has resulted in a grossly inadequate regulatory system for the
conditions under which drilling is taking place. The Canada Nova Scotia
Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) is dominated by oil industry veterans
who are the regulators as well as the promoters of offshore oil and gas
exploration.
Ottawa, meanwhile, has introduced Bill C-69, which in its current form
would give the CNSOPB an increased role in environmental assessment. The
industry lobbied hard to secure a majority of members on the panel,
which is a clear attempt to turn this legislation into a rubber stamp
for the fossil fuel industry.
This industry-captured board has demonstrated priority consideration for
corporate interests by permitting drilling under conditions that are
unprecedented in oil and gas exploration. With the worst safety record
in the industry, BP was permitted to drill in water twice as deep, with
tide and weather conditions that are far more fierce than in the Gulf of
Mexico. This calls for rigorous, not lax, regulation.
In November, it was announced that BP had not found commercially viable
amounts of oil and they capped the well. All that risk for nothing.
Undaunted, the CNSOPB has now opened up two zones completely surrounding
Sable Island for bids: is nothing sacred? November also brought what may
be the worst oil spill so far in the East Coast offshore. Husky Energy’s
SeaRose production vessel spilled as much as 250,000 litres of oil into
the ocean. The SeaRose is the same vessel that failed to follow iceberg
protocols in March 2017, and was almost hit by an iceberg. Where is the
regulation?
Following this last incident, the St. John’s Telegram said this (Nov.
21) about that province’s regulatory board’s conflict of interest: “When
the C-NLOPB is an oilfield marketer, it can’t also be an effective
environmental and safety regulator.”
It is clear that industry and its closely allied regulator are prepared
to risk our communities. We need to have the opportunity through a
public inquiry to determine if we are willing to accept that risk. A
catastrophic blowout could destroy our sustainable fishery, which brings
in close to $2 billion annually. Our tourism industry in this province
is worth another $2.5 billion annually.
We are convinced that the decision to go ahead with drilling in the
absence of an exhaustive study is reckless, to put it mildly. All
approvals of oil industry projects in the offshore should be set aside
until after that public inquiry has completed its report and made
recommendations.
Marilyn Keddy, Campaign
to Protect Offshore Nova Scotia (CPONS), member of the Offshore Alliance
