Fracking coming to a neighbourhood near you? Mauro refuses to contemplate a ban

AWARE News Network

Just as soon as the NDP brought forward a bill to ban hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” in Ontario,  Liberal Natural Resources Minister Bill Mauro dismissed fears of the controversial industry coming to the province as “hypothetical,” and ruled out the possibility of a ban.

But his ministry has been looking at fracking opportunities in Ontario for several years. This 2009 presentation on Ontario Shale Gas Opportunities states that the “best potential for thermogenic gas may be in the deeper thermally mature Blue Mountain / Collingwood shales.”

The Council of Canadians notes that in 2010, the MNR released an aerial survey of shale formations in Ontario to assist gas companies in exploration, and the Ontario Geological Survey, an arm of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, completed a three-year study on shale gas potential in the province in 2012.

Fracking is a technique that involves the high-pressure injection of millions of litres of water and thousands of litres of unidentified chemicals underground at very high pressure in order to create fractures in the underlying shale rock formations and extract the natural gas below the surface. Many jurisdictions have banned it because of the potential for groundwater contamination.

Government rejects ban on hydraulic fracking in Ontario

By Keith Leslie The Canadian Press March 25 2015

An NDP private member’s bill to ban high volume hydraulic fracking to produce natural gas from shale in Ontario was quickly shot down by the Liberal government Wednesday.

NDP environment critic Peter Tabuns introduced a private member’s bill to have Ontario follow the lead of Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and New York and ban fracking.

Tabuns said fracking poses substantial risks to ground water, which is combined with toxic chemicals under extreme pressure to fracture shale deposits to free up natural gas for extraction.

However, Natural Resources Minister Bill Mauro said the Liberal government will not impose a ban on fracking.

“We’re internally reviewing what our plans will be and we’ll go forward on that basis,” Mauro told reporters. “We won’t be going forward with a moratorium. The review will determine what our next steps will be.”

Mauro would not put a timeline on when his ministry’s review of the fracking issue could be completed, and said there are no fracking applications to the ministry, no one is seeking a licence and there is no exploration going on for fracking in Ontario right now. The minister said he wasn’t sure there’s enough potential gas in the province to attract companies that want to frack.

But the NDP said Ontario needs to impose a moratorium on fracking before companies exhaust other deposits and come looking for licences to explore for natural gas in this province.

There’s a shale deposit being exploited in Pennsylvania that extends under Lake Erie to its northern shore in Ontario, and potentially other deposits in the province, so the government should act now to block exploration, said Tabuns.

“As gas developers run out of places to exploit, they may well turn to Ontario,” he said. “So we have an opportunity now before we get drawn into this, to block it from happening.”

Mauro called Tabuns’ suggestion there are more potential natural gas deposits in Ontario that would attract fracking companies in the future “hypothetical.”

Proposed fracking ban vital for protecting Great Lakes, says Council of Canadians

News release from Council of Canadians March 15 2015

Today, Peter Tabuns, MPP for Toronto-Danforth, introduces a bill that would ban fracking in Ontario.

Other provinces such as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia already have similar bans. But if adopted, Ontario would be the most populous province to do so. In October 2014, an EKOS-Council of Canadians poll found that 75 per cent of Ontarians support a fracking ban.

“We welcome a fracking ban to protect the Great Lakes,” says Mark Calzavara, Ontario regional organizer with the Council of Canadians. “We urge the Ontario government to adopt this law: it would be responding to Ontarians’ legitimate safety concerns and protecting the future of the Great Lakes.”

In Ontario, fracking particularly endangers communities since some shale gas reserves are concentrated in densely populated areas of the province, in particular Southern Ontario off the shores of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and Lake Huron. To add to this, there are already major threats to the Great Lakes such as the Energy East pipeline, tar sands crude shipments by rail and tanker, and other extreme energy projects.

“If passed, this bill would signal the continuing wave of moratoria on fracking that we are seeing in Eastern Canada,” says Emma Lui, water campaigner with the Council of Canadians. “A ban on fracking is needed to prevent the public health risks associated with fracking chemicals, avoid runaway climate change and combat declining water sources. We need to stop fracking to protect the waters of the Great Lakes once and for all.”

Ontario has experienced some of the worst droughts in the last two decades. Fracking would only make it worse because of the vast quantities of water required for the process.

“The massive amounts of water normally used in fracking projects would exacerbate the declining water sources in Southern Ontario. Governments have an obligation to ensure that communities are not competing with fracking companies for water,” adds Lui.

The province has already promoted opening up Southern Ontario to horizontal fracking. In 2010, the Ministry of Natural Resources released an aerial survey of shale formations in Ontario with the purpose of assisting gas companies in exploration. The Ontario Geological Survey, an arm of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, completed a three-year study on shale gas potential in the province in 2012.

NDP MPP Peter Tabuns calls for fracking ban in Ontario

News release from Peter Tabuns March 25 2015

QUEEN’S PARK — MPP Peter Tabuns, NDP Environment and Climate Change critic, will introduce a bill this afternoon to ban fracking in Ontario. Quebec, New York state, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick already have similar bans.

“There is no need for Ontario to risk environmental damage and lawsuits by leaving the door open for this controversial business. Let’s learn from the hard experiences of others and act now,” said Tabuns, MPP for Toronto-Danforth.

While no licences have been issued in Ontario for fracking (High volume hydraulic fracking) to produce oil and gas from shale, there are rumours of interest on the part of gas developers to explore for, and potentially to exploit, shale gas in Ontario.

A review of health and environmental studies in Quebec and New York show that there are substantial local risks from fracking related to contamination of ground water supplies and air pollution, amongst other concerns. Dr. Howard Zucker, MD, Acting Commissioner of Health for New York State said that fracking should not proceed.

The Quebec study also raised concerns about the release of acrid odours, along with disruptive noise that could disturb people up to 4 kilometres from the work site. The study also noted that substantial shale gas development could increase greenhouse gas emissions in Quebec by up to 23% largely from methane leaks from exploration, working wells and from leaks long after the well was closed.

Ontario needs to take strong action to protect its water and its climate. As global warming will make Ontario a much drier place, protection of water supplies will become more vital for agriculture, human consumption and business.

“I call on the government to support and pass this bill which will be debated in April. The Premier has made it clear that climate change demands urgent action, she has a chance to avoid a significant new source of greenhouse gas emissions in Ontario and hopefully will take it,” said Tabuns.