Download Expert Panel on Hydraulic Fracturing in Nova Scotia July 25, 2014

Expert Panel on Hydraulic Fracturing in Nova Scotia
July 25, 2014
The Verschuren Centre, Cape Breton University
Subject: Comments
Re: Discussion Paper: Hydraulic Fracturing – Understanding General Regulatory Issues
Dear Dr. Wheeler and Expert Panel,
I would like to congratulate the committee who wrote the regulatory discussion paper on
presenting a thorough, thought-provoking and well-balanced look at the subject of regulating
hydraulic fracturing projects in Nova Scotia. It is a complex and controversial area fraught with
uncertainties, misinformation, and political implications.
I am confident that there is very little that I might contribute to this conversation that has not
already been covered in your discussion paper or pointed out by local environmental groups
and members of the public who are actively pursuing a healthy lifestyle and greener economy
for all Nova Scotians. In that regard I will summarize the issues which I feel are of particular
merit.

Developing a new regulatory regime based on those already in use in other Canadian
jurisdictions such as Alberta and B.C., as New Brunswick has done is of little
consequence in Nova Scotia where the geography, geology and existing socio-economic
conditions are so completely different.
Additionally, Alberta, in particular, is often held up as a model of stringent regulations,
when in fact, inspection and reporting has been shown to be lax and clean-up and
mitigation of spill sites has often been incomplete and has often taken place in an
untimely fashion. Richer provinces are able to invest in research to aid in preventing
environmental problems from becoming problematic, unlike Nova Scotia where invest
dollars are much harder to come by.
As for CAPP Codes of Practice, they are simply no better than a set of optimum
operating conditions and if left up to the operators to comply with these conditions on a
voluntary basis, this will only happen if the activities do not present too high of a cost
burden to the operator. If used as a model for regulators to develop regulations, there is
no point in regulating the fracking companies out of business. The regulations must be
suited to the corporate business plan or the operators will go elsewhere. In the final
analysis, by placing a ban on fracking in the first place and not having to deal with these
regulatory issues at all, this option will save the Nova Scotian government and taxpayers a lot of time, energy and money in the long run.

Since the regulation of fracking in Nova Scotia is already a piecemeal affair regulated by
several government Ministries, Environment and Energy, for instance, how will these
projects work should the various Ministries not co-operate with each other? The decision
to license a project then becomes a political issue, rather than one based on firm
scientific principles. Regulations are written to prevent harm, but this can be difficult
when there is a lack of baseline data, and many unknown, synergistic and cumulative
effects regarding fracking fluids and air contaminants.
Since the production of gas is largely based on trade, it seems counter-intuitive not to
take into consideration the transportation of the gas from the site to its destination via
pipelines, roadways, ships and railways. These issues are rarely covered in the issuance
of a license since they take place in a separate location and are often the jurisdiction of
another level of government or government agency. This is a big problem in Nova Scotia
where our infrastructure is already inadequate for our own needs and badly in need of
repair. Building new infrastructure is extremely costly and will have a limited lifespan
based entirely on market forces.
Safety considerations related to infrastructure have become a major issue of late even
within Nova Scotia with a number of fuel car derailments, in addition to the poor quality
of our roads and bridges. The increase in heavy traffic on these routes from fracking
activity could cause major accidents and health problems.

The issue of municipalities having to bare the increasing costs of fracking activities
without public consultation nor any real financial benefits accruing to their citizenry is
totally unacceptable especially in municipalities with older populations or where they rely
on forms of economic activity such as agriculture and tourism that don’t partner well with
fracking activity.
The idea of regional planning, where municipal governments and the public are able to
participate in the planning process, and all activity, including fracking licenses must
adhere to the regional plan, makes the process of licensing less political and more
participatory. Consultation regarding any project continuing through to decommissioning
should be mandatory as mentioned in the discussion paper.

No matter how strict the regulations and how well enforced they are, spills, leaks, safety
and health issues of all sorts will happen, as has been shown in so many other
jurisdictions. When that happens, the consequences can be disastrous and may never
be put right.
Due to climate change, Nova Scotians have been witnessing an increase in the number
and severity of storms and the resultant damage caused by severe wind, snow, ice and
rain events. The coastal nature of our province puts us at risk for coastal erosion, sea
level rise, storm surges and flooding. These events, result in major problems to fracking
operations where spills can cause widespread damage. These are issues that must be
planned for before any licenses are issued or regulations drawn up.
Often no amount of compensation can fix these problems. It’s a matter of risk vs. reward
and in this province, the public has overwhelming shown that the risk is not worth it for
them.

Increasingly the Federal government has become involved in a variety of International
Trade Agreements which could prove disastrous to smaller provinces should they make
the mistake of licensing a project and then cancelling the agreement at a later date.
Corporations could effectively drain the tax coffers with court actions. This is a situation
that Nova Scotia can ill afford. It is therefore incumbent upon the government to take a
go slow approach to these projects by exercising the precautionary principle and not
issuing any licenses until it has a clear plan to move forward based on solid facts rather
than dealing with the intricacies and details at a later date.

Last, but not least, every aspect of fracking in Nova Scotia is likely to cost the
government and Nova Scotia tax-payers a good deal of money. Developing a sound
regulatory system complete with a robust inspection and enforcement unit will be costly.
There will be additional costs to the Health, Transportation and Infrastructure, Judicial,
Education, Environment, Energy, Natural Resources , Agriculture and Tourism
departments to name a few.
Instead of investing those funds in short term gain that is bound to cause problems and
additional costs, lets become leaders and build resilience and a green economy in Nova
Scotia by looking to alternative energy sources that will help slow climate change and
provide careers for our own young people where they can look to the future in healthy
communities.
Sincerely
Candace Ballard