Vol. 3, No. 1 Contents
Headline Back Issues
Winter 1998
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Georges Bank petroleum ban decision due in July 1999 Halifax, Nova Scotia ---- Now that the public comment process is over, those for and against continuing a ban on petroleum exploration and drilling on the Canadian portion of Georges Bank must wait several months for a decision on the issue from provincial and federal ministers. The moratorium, which expires on January 1, 2000, has been in place since 1988 when the fishing industry and environmentalists were first alarmed by exploration activities on the bank ----- a traditional fishing ground for scallops, lobster, cod, haddock, and other finfish ----- that marks the southern gateway to the Gulf of Maine. A moratorium on the US portion of the bank, enacted under former President George Bush and recently extended by President Bill Clinton, is in place until the year 2012. NORIGS 2000, a coalition of fishery, environmental, and community representatives that favors extending the Canadian drilling moratorium until 2012, asserts that the ban is necessary to protect the bank from oil spills and other environmental damage. "Georges Bank is one of the most ecologically productive fishing areas in the world. Nothing significant, in terms of the risks of drilling, has changed since 1988," says the group. NORIGS 2000 maintains that the Georges Bank fishing grounds are worth more than any of the economic benefits anticipated by proponents of oil and gas development there. In January, those for and against continuing the moratorium stated their views at public hearings in Yarmouth, Shelburne, Lunenburg, and Halifax. Representatives from all sides of the issue had also presented their views at a Gulf of Maine Council forum on the topic in Halifax November 19. The deadline for entering written comments into the record was February 10, according to Maurice MacDonald, Commun-ications Officer for the Georges Bank Review Panel. Appointed in 1996 as part of a public review process required under the Canadian legislation that established the moratorium, the panel is responsible for coordinating the review process, culminating in the recent public hearings. The panel must submit its recommendations by July 1 of this year to the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, and the provincial Minister responsible for the Canada Nova Scotia Accord Act, who must decide before January 1, 2000 whether to extend the moratorium. MacDonald said the nearly 90 presentations made at the hearings by government representatives, environmental groups, the fishing industry, petroleum companies, and community chambers of commerce were "very well prepared." But he declined to predict what the panel would decide to recommend in July. Ecosystem damage feared According to NORIGS 2000, the seismic surveys that petroleum companies undertake to look for hydrocarbons under the sea would disrupt the spawning activity of fish on the bank. Seismic surveys involve setting off loud sounds and recording their echoes. The timing and strength of the echo indicates the depth and properties of undersea rock layers. If surveys indicate that certain rocks may contain petroleum, exploratory drilling is used to confirm its presence. NORIGS 2000 says drilling could also cause numerous environmental problems including suffocating organisms living on the ocean floor. The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has led a scientific review of the possible effects of exploratory activities on the Georges Bank marine ecosystem. According to Paul Boudreau of DFO's Marine Environmental Sciences Division, "The review concluded that there will be impacts, although most likely they will be restricted in time and space to the location of activities." He said there is a "small chance" that those activities could have wider ecosystem ramifications on fish spawning and catch rates. DFO has not yet assessed the potential impacts of the next step beyond exploration ----- petroleum production. Petroleum production activities also worry NORIGS 2000, which fears the environmental repercussions of controlled burning of natural gas, potential pipeline leaks and ruptures, accidental spills of solvents, incidents involving tankers, restriction of access to fishing grounds due to exclusion zones around rigs and pipelines, and conflicts between exploration supply vessels and fishing boats. The end of the moratorium would not, however, lead to a sudden drilling free-for-all on Georges Bank, according to Andy Parker, Manager of Operations and Environment at the Canada/Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB), an independent federal/ provincial government agency that regulates petroleum production in the Nova Scotia offshore area. If the moratorium were not extended, said Parker, companies holding exploration licenses for Georges Bank predating the ban would have to renegotiate those agreements with CNSOPB. Before any seismic exploration could begin, an environmental assessment would have to take place. Then, CNSOPB, in consultation with its advisory committees on the fishery and the environment, would consider whether to allow petroleum exploration activities and under what circumstances. The process would include informational meetings for the public, although public hearings ----- at which people could state their positions on the proposed exploration activities ----- may or may not take place, Parker said. But NORIGS 2000 says opening the door to petroleum production on Georges Bank would set a precedent for other fishing areas. "Failure to extend the moratorium on Georges could herald open season in areas like German Bank, Browns Bank, and the Bay of Fundy," the group asserts. "Failure to extend could also undermine our growing cooperative fisheries and other relationships with US interests on Georges and in the Gulf of Maine." Sources for more information Georges Bank Review Canada Departmentof Fisheries and Oceans Canada/Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board Fundy Forum |
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