Fundy Solid Waste Commission welding shut blue bins

From the CBC:

NB Power posts profit

B2
by adam huras
Times & Transcript Staff

FREDERICTON - NB Power has posted a profit for the second straight quarter, recording $86 million in net earnings in the first six months of the current financial year.

The utility reported $4 million in net earnings during the same period last year.

Slashed administration costs and stronger-than-expected hydro generation played a significant part for the second quarter in a row in the utility recording a $82 million year-over-year improvement.

The details are contained in the second of the utility's quarterly public reports that was released yesterday.

The report cites a $17 million year-over-year decrease in operating and maintenance expenses.

"NB Power employees continued to focus on reducing costs and improving efficiencies," stated Gaëtan Thomas, president and CEO, in a statement.

"Our cost-reduction initiatives are starting to make a substantial difference."

In-province revenue was $19 million higher than the same period a year ago "mainly due to colder weather, increased residential load, and a rate increase implemented in June 2010."

Fuel and purchased power and transmission expense decreased $80 million compared to the same period due to a 61 per cent increase in hydro generation and lower overall generation costs.

The numbers offset a loss in out-of-province revenue of $7 million due to export market prices being lower than a year ago.

The report also includes word that NB Power has received five submissions to keep the Dalhousie Generating Station in operation.

The utility had issued a request for interest to determine if there were parties willing to operate a business within the generating station or who might be interested in purchasing the facility.

"They are currently under evaluation," according to the report.

View the report

N.B. files RCMP complaint against Windsor Energy

N.B. files RCMP complaint against Windsor Energy
Investigation may take months
CBC News

The New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources has filed a complaint against Windsor Energy Inc. with the RCMP for allegedly violating the Oil and Natural Gas Act.

The Calgary-based company is accused of directing a contracted company to conduct geophysical exploration within the boundaries of the town of Sussex without the town's permission, according to a statement issued Wednesday by Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup.

"An investigation by the department concluded that on Monday, Oct. 17, geophysical testing involving the use of truck-mounted vibration equipment was conducted along a highway inside the town's boundaries," he said.

Under regulation 86-191 of the Oil and Natural Gas Act, a municipality's written permission is required before geophysical activity can be conducted inside the boundaries of an incorporated municipality.

"As this matter is now before the RCMP for investigation, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on this specific case," said Northrup, whose riding includes Sussex.

The investigation could take months, Northrup told reporters during a news conference Wednesday.

"It's not delaying anything at all. It is regulation, the regulation has been broken, so we feel very strongly that the RCMP will do their best," he said.

"I have a lot of confidence in the RCMP and the justice system and they'll work with the Crown prosecutor to get all of the information together to see if there's actions to be taken.

"It may take months to complete, but we feel at the end of the day this is the right way to do it," said Northrup.

"Everything has been kind of put on hold for the next little while with all the companies. They won't be doing any more seismic work, they won't be doing any exploration. Everything's been taken back to their head offices that they've done this year, so we don't expect any more work until March or April of next year so if it takes two or three months for the RCMP to investigate it and get back to us, then we have the time to do it."

As it stands, Windsor Energy has completed its testing for the year, but has permits that would allow it to keep testing into the spring.

Northrup has previously said it is clear Windsor Energy broke the rules and did so intentionally.

The contractor, Seismotion, has said its crews arrived in Sussex two days ahead of schedule and decided not to wait for town consent. (CBC)Its contractor, Seismotion, originally asked for town approval to do tests within the community, and councillors arranged a special meeting in October, just ahead of the company's scheduled arrival, the department found.

But when Seismotion crews arrived in Sussex two days ahead of schedule, the company decided not to wait for town consent.

The department's investigation was launched after it received complaints about the testing, including a unanimous letter from Sussex council, asking the government to take action against the company.

That investigation illustrated the need for stronger regulations for the emerging industry, Northrup has said.

In Wednesday's statement, Northrup said: "New Brunswickers can be assured that all companies exploring for or developing oil and natural gas reserves in our province are expected to observe our laws and that we will ensure these laws are upheld.

"The rules we have in place and those now being developed to strengthen our regulatory framework are intended to protect our people and our environment, and must be respected."

Earlier this week, Northrup vowed he would take "strong action" against the company. "We feel that Windsor Energy has gone against us and has gone against the people of New Brunswick," he said Monday during the province's annual conference for the mining and petroleum industry in Fredericton.

In the written statement, Northrup acknowledged that he had received a written apology from Khalid Amin, Windsor Energy's president and chief executive officer. Amin has also apologized to Sussex council and the town's residents, Northrup said.

Sussex Mayor Ralph Carr previously told CBC News he had called Amin, asking him to apologize, but Amin turned him down.

SWN says N.B.'s underground gas widespread

SWN says N.B.'s underground gas widespread


CBC News- SWN Resources, the biggest player in shale gas exploration in New Brunswick, announced Tuesday in Fredericton that its initial assessments show an abundance of oil and gas underground.

"It's not a hundred per cent but it certainly looks like we'll drill a stratographic test. A seismic has been shot. It's being interpreted as we speak," said Tom Alexander, SWN's New Brunswick general manager.

"The objective is to drill and take rock samples and cores and logs and just find out what the age of the rocks are, where we are in the section and what's underneath the surface of the earth."

The company has so far analyzed about 2,800 geochemical tests. The company expects to move quickly forward with the next series of tests by next year.

Gas exploring company broke N.B. rules: minister

Published Thursday November 3rd, 2011
Windsor Energy did seismic survey without town council approval, DNR says
By James Foster
Times & Transcript Staff



When Windsor Energy conducted seismic testing in Sussex without prior approval of the town, it breached provincial regulations and was a slap to the face to area residents, to the provincial government and the minister of natural resources as well, Bruce Northrup says.

"I believe (Windsor CEO and president Khalid Amin) owes a sincere public apology to the mayor, councillors and people of Sussex for this show of disrespect," Northrup said yesterday.

Beyond that, however, the minister is not sure what other sanctions could be heading Windsor's way for the alleged regulatory breach.

Calgary-based Windsor is licensed to do seismic testing in the area around Sussex and asked the town to let it to conduct underground surveying on a small parcel of town land.

The town council scheduled a special meeting for Oct. 18 to consider the request, but according to the DNR investigation, Amin ordered subcontractors to proceed without town approval, one day prior to the scheduled meeting.

The company did not immediately respond to Northrup's accusation but had said earlier it thought municipal approval was a courtesy, not a requirement since they already had a provincial permit, and that the one-day delay would have cost an additional $60,000 in extra costs for rental of the vibrating equipment used to gauge the possible presence of underground oil and gas deposits.

Northrup's demands for an apology drew scorn from anti-shale gas forces in the province, who point to the minister's response as evidence the provincial government is a toothless tiger when it comes to its boasts of enacting the toughest shale-gas exploration regulations in North America.

But Northrup insisted yesterday there could be more serious repercussions for Windsor, whose licence to explore in the province expires one week from Saturday. At that point, the company has to show within 90 days that they've complied with the terms of that licence as well as with provincial regulations if they hope to continue working in this province.

And fines could be imposed as well, the minister said.

That's where things get murky.

In order for penalties to be imposed, someone has to file a complaint with the police. Northrup said he's looking at doing so but did not commit to it yesterday, saying only that "there will be more actions taken against them as we go down the road."

The police then have to conduct an investigation, file their evidence, if any, with a Crown prosecutor who would then decide whether a charge should be laid in court. A trial would be held should all of this occur and should Windsor choose to defend itself. Such a process has the potential to take years.

A breach of the act calls for penalties under the Provincial Offences and Procedures Act, which classifies offences under several categories, with a range of fines for each category starting at about $140 for minor infractions, up to $200,000 for the top category of offences.

Northrup said he's not a lawyer and didn't know which category the alleged breach might fall under, yet hinted the penalty might not be much under current laws.

"There's a strong indication we'll have to stiffen the fines," he said at one point during a conference call with reporters.

The Liberal opposition, who have called for a moratorium on shale gas exploration to allow time to toughen regulations, called Northrup's response "weak."

"This is unacceptable," said Liberal DNR critic Denis Landry.

"The minister has to take responsibility and let New Brunswickers know what the appropriate action should be in this and future cases. This happened in his home town. There's an opportunity here to let the industry know they can't take New Brunswickers or this government for granted."

Northrup said he's directed his staff to follow up on the case and "take appropriate action." That action should be known in a week or so, the minister said.

The incident provided a "gotcha" moment for groups opposed to shale gas development, who have long contended that, at best, the industry will take shortcuts where and when they can and, at worst, government and industry are collaborating in the best interests of the gas industry, not of New Brunswickers who own the resource.

Northrup acknowledged that the incident was "not helpful," saying other players in the province's dawning shale gas industry have called him to express their dismay.

"They don't agree with what Windsor Energy has done," he said.

Windsor "embarrassed us," he continued.

"We're not going to put up with outside companies telling us what we're going to do when they come into the province of New Brunswick."

Northrup called it "a slap in the face" to himself, his department, the provincial government and in particular to citizens, saying he's "not sure" if an apology from Windsor would mitigate any flack that might be coming in the company's direction after their decision to proceed without Sussex's written approval.


From the CBC:

Three Cooke Aquaculture executives face environment charges

Mark Iype
Telegraph-Journal

SAINT JOHN - Environment Canada has charged three executives at New Brunswick's largest aquaculture company following an investigation into the use of an illegal pesticide that the federal agency believes killed large numbers of lobsters in the Bay of Fundy between 2009 and 2010.

Kelly Cove Salmon, a division of Cooke Aquaculture, Cooke Aquaculture CEO Glenn Cooke, vice-president Mike Szemerda and Randal Griffin, regional production manager of Kelly Cove Salmon, face 11 counts of violating section 36(3) of the federal Fisheries Act, which prohibits depositing substances deleterious to fish into fish-bearing water.

Environment Canada alleges that Kelly Cove Salmon and the three senior company officials oversaw the release of a cypermethrin-based pesticide into the waters of Maces Bay, Passamoquoddy Bay as well as the waters surrounding Deer Island and Grand Manan between November 2009 and November 2010.

"We were able to identify 11 instances where the pesticide was released," said Robert Robichaud, Environment Canada enforcement operations director for New Brunswick and P.E.I.

Cypermethrin is banned for use in Canadian waters, and is known to be harmful to crustaceans, including lobster.

Large numbers of dead and dying lobsters were first reported by fishermen in the Campobello region in the fall of 2009, prompting the investigation by Environment Canada.

Cooke Aquaculture's vice-president communications Nell Halse said the company stands by the reputation it has developed over the previous 25 years, and a legal team will prepare a response to the charges once it gets more details.

"As a company and an industry, we want to see the facts come to light," she said. "There has been a lot of innuendo and discussions about the allegations. We need to get past that."

Halse said the two year ordeal has been "hanging over our head," but she said the company has co-operated fully with the nearly two-year investigation.

Environment Canada was first informed of dead and dying lobsters on Nov. 19, 2009 by the Grand Manan Fishermen's Association. More were found off Pocologan on Nov. 23 and again near a wharf in Fairhaven, Deer Island on Dec. 3.

Environment Canada collected samples of affected lobsters from Grand Manan and Deer Island as well as fish, mussels and kelp, which were then sent to a Moncton laboratory for analysis.

The laboratory tests showed that the dead lobsters from Grand Manan and Deer Island were exposed to cypermethrin, a chemical banned in Canada, but used elsewhere by the aquaculture industry to control sea lice, which are harmful to fish grown in captivity.

Environment Canada opened its first investigation into the lobster kill on Dec. 22, followed by a second on Feb. 10.

Robichaud said the case was extensive, but he said that is not unusual when it comes to environmental investigations.

"Most environmental investigations are usually complex, but it's our duty to thoroughly determine if there have been any violations," he said. "We approach any potential violations consistently, and we take any potential violations seriously."

Maria Recchia, executive director of Fundy North Fisherman's association and the spokeswoman for the Traditional Fisheries Coalition, said she is very pleased that the government stuck with its investigation.

"This has been a long process and has concerned us for over 20 years," she said. "This gives some comfort to the fishermen that pesticide use is being paid attention to by the government."

Recchia said there has been a lot of concern for the lobster stocks and the environment since the dead crustaceans were first discovered two years ago.

"The traditional fishery has been here for hundreds of years. It employs thousands of people and adds millions to the economy," she said. "We just can't have toxic chemicals in the bay."

Recchia said the fishery and the aquaculture industry need to find a way to work together and find non-toxic methods of dealing with the sea lice problem.

Halse said many people wrongly believe that Cooke Aquaculture thinks there can only be either a fishery or a farming industry. But she said her company has clearly demonstrated that it can co-exist with the fishery.

Halse said she is concerned that the court of public opinion has already passed judgment on the company.

"We all understand that we are custodians of the marine environment," she said. "We are good neighbours."

Halse added that the investigation has been difficult for the company's employees and for the Cooke family, which started the company.

"This is not a day that anyone was looking forward to," she said.

Each count of the indictment carries a maximum fine $1 million, and three years in prison.

Representatives of Kelly Cove Salmon, as well as the three company officials, are expected to appear in provincial court in St. Stephen on Dec. 13.



From the CBC:

Calvin Tillman gives presentation on his experience with shale gas at UNB

Speech: Calvin Tilman relates concern about industry's effect; N.B. deputy says province will regulate better
A4
Tara Chislett
Canadaeast News Service

The audience at a shale gas presentation gave a cool reception to a provincial deputy minister Saturday, but former Dish, Texas, mayor Calvin Tillman said he's happy to see members of government come out to hear about the effects of shale gas exploration in his former town.

After making presentations in Memramcook and Richibucto, Tillman spoke at the University of New Brunswick's McLaggan Hall on Saturday afternoon as part of the Shale Gas Speaker Series.

Tillman, who appeared in the 2010 documentary Gasland, was invited to New Brunswick to share his first-hand experience with the negative effects of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.

After receiving a standing ovation from some members of the audience before he even began to speak, Tillman told the crowd about how shale gas exploration harmed the environment, decreased property values and led to health issues in his 200-person community.

He said it was out of concern for his children's health that he left Dish in 2011 after four years as mayor.

Although Sam McEwan, the deputy minister of Natural Resources, was called out by members of the public during the question-and-answer session following Tillman's talk, event moderator Armand Paul quickly shut down the discussion and turned the attention back to the speaker.

"The government people and the gas people have had lots of opportunity to present, as we've heard it a thousand times," he told the crowd. "Let's hear it from Mr. Tillman."

But while the action received applause from the audience, Tillman said he would have welcomed questions and comments from McEwan.

"I don't want to ever discourage someone from coming out and, frankly, I would have liked for him to be able to ask questions about my presentation and do that sort of stuff," he said.

"Unfortunately that was not able to happen. But I think they could learn from what I have to say. I think just by virtue of them coming out shows my trip up here was some success and you have that group listening to what's going on down at the grassroots level.

"I would happily spend as much time as I can with them and help them with their decision-making as well."

Following the presentation, some members of the audience confronted McEwan about his presence at the lecture.

Marlene McClement said she sat in front of McEwan and the Natural Gas Group representatives during the meeting. She said she felt the comments being made by the group to one another during the presentation were distracting.

"It was ugly and it was rude," she said. "These people are supposed to be representing us and ensuring our safety, and it's pathetic. This is pitiful."

In particular, McClement said, she disagreed with McEwan saying the presentation was "evangelical."

"I loved Mr. Tillman. I felt that was a citizen who was engaged much like we are, and I'm really glad he came here to share his experience. I didn't think he was being evangelical, as Mr. McEwan was saying. I felt he was being honest about how this affects people's lives."

Speaking with The Daily Gleaner following the confrontation, McEwan said he didn't intend for the term evangelical to be taken in a negative way.

"I did use the term 'evangelical,' but I meant it in terms that the passion that is there is similar to that," he said.

"It's just really in their heart and soul. We recognize that. There's no question about it. We're doing our best to inform people about what is in place at the moment (and) how we plan to move forward with this, if in fact we have an industry, because right at the moment we do know there is some shale (gas), but so far there really hasn't been a lot of success getting the shale out of the ground, so there may not even be an industry in New Brunswick. But that remains to be seen."

McEwan said he was frustrated with some elements of Tillman's talk.

"I think you have to keep things in perspective," he said. "One of those things is this (talk is about) Texas, not New Brunswick. He made a lot of comments we'd like to talk to him further about, get clarification, but right at the moment, basically what he's saying is his experience has the opportunity to happen here. And I guess from my perspective, that's why we're here.

"We wanted to listen to Mr. Tillman, to hear what his experience was, to identify the issues that he has experienced so that we can ensure as a government that we don't experience them here.

"As a government, we are in a position where we're making the rules and the regulations, and that's fully our intent. It was very, very frustrating to hear some of the things that were being said. I can understand his frustration."

McEwan said he'll be bringing the points Tillman made and the concerns of those who spoke with him back to the Department of Natural Resources.

For citizens in the audience, Tillman said the most important thing they can do is make sure they're organized and that they have as much information as they can about what's going on.

"First and foremost, they need to be able to speak with their government officials who are making these decisions."

But while Tillman said he didn't come to Fredericton to tell anyone what to do, he said if there's one message he hopes the audience left with it was simply to slow down.

"Shale has been there for 10 million years. It's going to be there for 10 million more," he said.

"We don't have to do this tomorrow."




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