ROSEBUD, Alta. – Alberta will not appeal a court ruling that says a woman can sue the province over hydraulic fracturing that she alleges has so badly contaminated her well that the water can be set on fire.

Jessica Ernst began legal action against Alberta’s energy regulator and Calgary-based energy company Encana (TSX:ECA) in 2007, and amended her statement of claim in 2011 to include Alberta Environment.

Last month, Chief Justice Neil Wittmann of Court of Queen’s Bench dismissed the government’s application to strike it from the lawsuit.

An Alberta Justice spokeswoman gave no reason for the government’s decision not to appeal.

Ernst alleges fracking on her land northeast of Calgary released hazardous amounts of chemicals such as methane into her well and that her concerns were not properly investigated.

She says she is delighted and surprised by the province’s decision not to appeal and is looking forward to reading the government’s statement of defence.

“After seven arduous years a stunning victory stands,” Ernst said Tuesday from her home in the hamlet of Rosebud. “The truth will have its day in court.”

In its statement of defence, Encana has denied all of Ernst’s allegations.

In September, the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld another ruling that said Ernst could not include the province’s energy regulator in her lawsuit.

Ernst said she is seeking leave to appeal the September ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Hydraulic fracturing involves pumping water, nitrogen, sand and chemicals at high pressure underground to fracture rock and allow natural gas or oil to flow through wells to the surface.

— By John Cotter in Edmonton

Alberta’s NDP

February 05, 2015

EDMONTON – NDP Energy critic Brian Mason said today that Jim Prentice is wasting his time in the United States trying to promote an environmental policy that he himself referred to as a science experiment.

Yesterday, Prentice referred to carbon capture and storage as a “game changing technology,” just months after he referred to carbon capture as a “science experiment.”

“While his Finance Minister is at home trying to sell the PCs’ fiscal policy that has failed ordinary Alberta families, the Premier has taken a week away from Alberta to sell an environmental policy that he doesn’t believe in.” Mason said.

“But not only is Prentice attempting to sell Americans a line about carbon capture—he’s also in Washington and New York, lobbying for a pipeline that would sell out opportunities for long-term jobs upgrading product here in Alberta.”

Mason posed two questions that Prentice needs to answer:

1.      If Prentice believes, as he stated, that carbon capture is “game changing technology”, and is no longer the “science experiment” that he criticized in July and again in October, will he provide further public resources to these projects?

2.      If Prentice believes, as his Finance Minister has said “that we must get off the oil train”, why does he support expanding the export of raw bitumen to create US jobs and US business opportunities, rather than more upgrading and processing of our resources here, in line with the philosophy of Peter Lougheed and the Alberta NDP?  Why are there no actions to support diversification which would create Alberta jobs?

“Albertans deserve straight answers to these questions,” Mason said. “Again and again, Alberta families are left wondering why the PC government can’t be trusted to plan for our future—for future prosperity, to protect our natural environment and to improve our international reputation.”

CBC

Posted: 11/10/2014 8:00 am EST Updated: 01/10/2015 5:59 am EST

Carmen Langer had just left his bed to grab a drink of water when he felt his house northeast of Peace River, Alta., begin to shake.

“At first I thought I wasn’t feeling very good that day… and it was just my blood sugar, but no, it shook pretty good,” Langer said about the Nov. 2 incident.

Moments after the shaking stopped, his neighbours were calling, asking if he had felt what they just felt.

“After a few minutes, I realized it was an earthquake,” Langer said.

Natural Resources Canada (NRC) registered a small, 3.0-magnitude earthquake that was “lightly felt” from Three Creeks to St. Isidor in northern Alberta at 11:14 p.m. MT. NRC said on its website there were no reports of damage, and that “none would be expected.”

Jeff Gu, a seismologist at the University of Alberta, said the earthquake could have been caused by shifting rock formations in the region — but added there could be another possible explanation.

“Certainly that region is not immune to earthquake faulting, but I would say having actual earthquakes in that area is relatively recent, relatively new,” he said.

Gu is one of three authors of a recently published study in the Journal of Geophysical Research, a peer-reviewed publication that looked at four years of earthquake data around Rocky Mountain House. The study concludes that waste-water injection into the ground is highly correlated with spikes in earthquake activity in the area.

It is the first study of its kind conducted in Canada that links industrial activity to induced earthquakes.

“The conclusion was that the industrial activities could, in some cases, potentially trigger or facilitate earthquake occurrences,” Gu said.

Alberta earthquakes increasing

Since 1985, fewer than 15 earthquakes above a 3.0 magnitude have been recorded anywhere in Alberta, according to the Alberta Geological Survey’s website. There has been an increase in earthquake activity since the 1960s, the organization says.

The Peace River earthquake is not the only one that has shaken the province in the past few months:

– In October, a 2.7-magnitude quake was recorded about four kilometres southwest of Banff.

– In August, a 4.3-magnitude earthquake was registered near Rocky Mountain House, causing about 500 customers in the area to lose power for several hours.

Gu said the research into whether waste-water induction and fracking are related to earthquakes is still “really a work in progress.”

“There has been more and more evidence, increasing evidence, in the last few years in particular — in Arkansas, in Texas and actually more recently here,” Gu said.

But he said there is nothing to fear right now.

“I’m not worried until we get a conclusive answer on whether these are caused by industry or not, whether they are naturally occurring,” Gu said.

Langer, however, is worried.

“With all the stuff that’s going on in my community, I’m feeling quite concerned about it,” he said. “We’re having all kinds of environmental problems in the community… Something has to give here.”

Letters to the Editor

LETHBRIDGE HERALD – THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014

I heard, on May 27 this year, that Kyoto Fuels’ Lethbridge biodiesel facility was under bankruptcy protection. I was incredulous. The president of Kyoto Fuels had just made a presentation to SACPA on Jan. 23 suggesting all was well with the biodiesel industry in Canada.  A little Internet searching quickly confirmed the news. The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy at Industry Canada provided a notice dated April 30 indicating Ernst and Young in Calgary had been appointed the “monitor” of bankruptcy proceedings. The sad story is developing on their website, http://documentcentre.eycan.com/Pages/Main.aspx?SID=298.

I’m surprised at the lack of discussion in local media. Biofuel initiatives have been touted here for several years as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to ameliorate global warming. A search of
Lethbridge Herald archives alone indicates no less than 55 stories related to “Kyoto Fuels” since 2003. The latest reports on the SACPA session in January.  I guess no one likes to be the bearer of bad news. However, this is something citizens should be informed about. Hundreds of millions of dollars of government funding has been directed to biofuel initiatives linked to climate change action. They may be of little value and, in cases like this, appear to be completely ineffective. Indeed, global warming seems to be developing at a far slower rate than postulated over the past 25 years. Remedial action may not be warranted at all.

I am hoping Kyoto Fuels’ failure will spark some serious investigative journalism on this issue. There must be better ways to spend our tax dollars.

Duane Pendergast

Lethbridge