[REALLY? What has the Institute done for New Brunswick?] TJ JAN 20 Energy institute may live on addressing fracking moratorium Energy Minister Donald Arseneault says future of independent body to be decided soon ADAM HURAS LEGISLATURE BUREAU FREDERICTON • The province’s embattled energy institute may have a role to play in addressing the Liberal government’s conditions placed on a hydraulic fracturing moratorium. Energy Minister Donald Arseneault says the future of the independent body will soon be decided. He said he wants to see the institute’s existing work continue because it may help address the five conditions placed on fracking in New Brunswick. The institute – established by the former Tory government to both pioneer research and examine existing science surrounding energy development – had been labelled by Brian Gallant as “there simply to push fracking.” But the governing Liberals also maintain further study of hydraulic fracturing is needed, meaning the institute may live on. “We have concerns on many aspects of the institute, but at the same time we do understand that there is some good being done in terms of research capacity,” Arseneault said. “When we brought forward our five conditions, there is an important component of better understanding some of the issues around shale gas. “This research component that the energy institute has undertaken, I believe there are still some studies left to be complete. We want to make sure that work continues.” The institute is in the midst of a two-year project collecting baseline data on well water. It is also pioneering a system to determine how much water can be safely withdrawn from the environment by industry and municipalities, while also moving to ensure earthquake monitoring remains in place near current oil and gas production sites. It has received roughly $700,000 from the provincial government for projects during the fiscal year. “You will hear a little bit more about them in the very new future,” Arseneault said of the institute. “We have had a lot of internal discussions on this issue. “Those are directions that are going to have to be provided in the very near future, and I do expect that within the next month.” Gallant had said the institute has no credibility, especially since its former chairman, Louis LaPierre, quit after he admitted to faking his academic credentials. LaPierre helped persuade the Conservative government to create the institute. A First Nations member of the institute’s scientific advisory council later resigned, questioning the group’s independence from government. The province’s chief medical officer of health also declined an invitation from the New Brunswick Energy Institute to join its advisory group. “All those events, it just got off on the wrong foot, so a lot of people are skeptical,” Arseneault said. “They are trying to right back their ship, but there are still some challenges there, and we want to make sure we put our stamp on it too. “We have many concerns about the institute, but one aspect that I think is really important that we have to find a way to preserve is the whole research component.” The institute has largely emerged from its earlier struggles with new leadership and important projects. David Besner, who is now chairman of the New Brunswick Energy Institute, said funding remains in place only until the end of April, although it does have some research projects that are funded and will continue well beyond that date. “From my point of view, that will go on,” he said.“Some of it is going to last for almost two years. That’s contracted research. “But the planning horizon for what we do starting in the next few months – we have some things we want to do, but I would like to get the lay of the land from government.” There is also the threat that the board made up of top scientists across North America could dissolve. “We don’t want to be an orphan,” he said. “If the government decides they don’t want the institute, I don’t think the board would want to stay on.” Besner said talks with government on the institute’s future role are ongoing. The five conditions government has stated must be met before the moratorium can be lifted include the development of a new regulatory regime, a plan that mitigates the impact on public infrastructure and addresses issues such as waste water disposal, and a process to consult First Nations. A fifth condition calls for a“social licence”for development to proceed. “We’re still discussing with the government what the future will be and what they would like to see,” he said, when asked if the institute could play a role in meeting the Liberal government’s conditions on hydraulic fracturing. “The institute has not been charged with making recommendations, rather to do the science, and put it in front of government and the people of New Brunswick.” Besner said if the government requires that type of role from the institute, it could consider taking it on. But he added that the institute’s role wouldn’t be to provide a definitive “yes”or“no”to hydraulic fracturing. “That’s a political decision,”he said.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 23:05:58 +0000
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