SUMMARY: "Survivors of sour gas"

- by Donna Korchinski, NetNews Inc.

December, 2000

As oil and gas prices hover at unprecedented highs in Canada, there is pressure by energy companies to produce more hydrocarbons. That means more oil and gas wells, batteries, gas plants, and pipelines. It also means an increased need for landowners in rural western Canada to accept the presence of venting stacks, trucks, drilling towers and burning plumes.

The struggle between landowners and energy-related companies has intensified. Landowners have become more organized, more militant, and more educated. They are also more apt to take their grievances to court. Until now, many of the grievances dealt with the nuisance factor of energy companies - increased noise, increased traffic and dust, the loss of a peaceful rural lifestyle and the threat of decreased property values.

But as landowners become better educated and gain experience,  they complain more loudly and passionately about the possible health effects of oil field flaring and gas emissions. They increasingly worry about the quality of air that they breathe and the water that they drink. There is also a heightened sense of fear amongst landowners as more becomes known about the chemical content of emissions.

Property owners are no longer accepting money unquestioningly from oil and gas companies for surface rights. In the past, they were grateful for extra cash in trade for the right of a company to drill on their land or build pipelines and other installations. They stayed silent about the "inconveniences". Many now believe the amount they receive for surface rights does not compensate for their health and environmental problems.

On a warm fall day in 2000, concerned citizens gathered in a tiny community hall on the outskirts of Calgary to organize Survivors of Sour Gas. This report is a series of talks and interviews from people and groups who attended from three prairie provinces, people who feel they have been harmed by oil and gas activity.  Others represent groups who worry about future harm to their lives because of oil and gas activity in their neighbourhoods.

In addition, this report includes an interview with a representative of Alberta regulators. The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (AEUB or EUB) is in charge of enforcing the rules on the Alberta oil and gas industry. EUB Spokesman Harry Lillo outlines the safeguards that are in place.  He explains how far the regulator has gone to bridge the gap between landowners and operators.

This report also includes a spokesman for the  industry, Frank George, of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). Mr. George explains how his industry has evolved in its sensitivity to landowners near its installations. He also outlines the efforts made by industry to ensure more and better communication with landowners and communities. While considerable progress has been made, much still needs to be done.

This report introduces the organizer of Survivors of Sour Gas from that first meeting, Rose Balcom. Ms. Balcom is a passionate woman whose doggedness and salty language is legend in government and energy industry boardrooms. She believes in the power of the pen, the telephone,  the fax machine and in science.

Then there is Martha. When you say "Martha", regulators, the energy industry, the environmental community and landowners know immediately that you are speaking about Dr. Martha Kostuch. She is a veterinarian from Rocky Mountain House, spectacular ranching country in the foothills of the mountains. Dr. Kostuch has observed more than normal numbers of abortions, malformations and other problems in cattle where there has been increased exposure to oil and gas activity or to acute events.  She has spoken out about the problem for many years. She has also worked tirelessly to increase awareness of the science needed to prove the cause and effect relationship between the two.

There are others. A woman outside of Calgary has symptoms of hydrogen sulfide poisoning.  She suspects this was from an installation near her home.  There is a young oilfield worker who with his working partner, was poisoned by gas. Neither has been able to return to work since the incident in July 1999. There are also representatives of groups who have struggled to make lives better environmentally for their communities.  There is also a gentleman originally from Manitoba who believes his family and his neighbours have suffered from the effects of oil and gas activity.

The purpose of these stories is not to lay blame or to accuse. It is to bring to the public the stories of people. It is also to show that there has been a real effort in the energy and regulatory industry to make life better for everyone.

TO ORDER

Another energy related story: "Real energy crisis near say experts"