New proposals from Energy Resource Conservation Board (ERCB) to increase well densities throughout Alberta ignore all of the possible negative effcets that more wells and more infrastructure are likely to have on everything from wildlife to native grasslands to groundwater. In a letter to ERCB, dated January 18 2011, Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) details its objections to the drastic proposals.
AWA's comments to ERCB include:
"AWA opposes any moves by ERCB to increase well densities, or streamline the process for increasing well densities, in Alberta. ERCB has made no effort to balance the increases in convenience for oil and gas companies with the serious negative impacts which such an increase could produce. As well densities increase, so the development footprint increases (including access roads). The effects of increasing footprint have been widely documented, from the effects on increasing grizzly bear mortality to the imminent disappearance of sage‐grouse from Alberta. Basic economic theory would suggest that analyzing the benefits of a particular course of action while making no attempt to analyze the costs is a fundamentally flawed approach."
Click here to see AWA's complete letter.
For more information contact:
Nigel Douglas, AWA Conservation Specialist: (403) 283-2025. [email protected]