From the online edition of Oilweek Magazine . . .
People say that oil and water don’t mix, but when it comes to Canadian-American political relations, the life-sustaining substances are intertwined. Two cross-border disputes involving American government officials versus Canadian hydrocarbon projects provide lessons that are certain to be repeated as Canadian production and expansion plans increasingly spill into American jurisdictions.
Recently, the two disputes have flared as hot as flambé dishes. The first—and one which threatens to light the entire kitchen on fire—is between BP and Montana Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester and concerns BP’s coalbed methane drilling plans in the Flathead Valley.
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From the Wednesday, November 21, 2007 online edition of the Hungry Horse News . . .
It was a last-minute decision, and I’m glad I made the right choice. I got a call from Will Hammerquist mid-afternoon on Monday. He asked if either Chris Peterson, Heidi Desch or I would be coming to the Flathead Coalition open house that evening.
The event was more than an open house at the Bohemian Grange Hall south of Whitefish. It was an opportunity for people concerned about the proposed Cline coal mine and coal bed methane (CBM) exploration in the headwaters of the Flathead River north of Glacier National Park to get an update on what the thoughts were — north of the border. Chris was off Monday and Heidi was covering the city council meeting. I had a 7 o’clock meeting on my schedule, but I told Will that I would stop in for an hour or so and meet some of the primary players in the effort to halt the exploration plans. I’m glad I did.
As people there for the open house socialized with some good conversation and food — thanks to the Northern Lights Saloon and Polebridge Mercantile — the ground floor at the Grange Hall filled. Long-time Coalition member John Frederick hauled a big pot of chili from Polebridge, some of it left on the floor of his vehicle due to a couple of bumps in the road en route to the Grange Hall. Everyone appeared to be in a jovial mood. Part of that was the grub, but the basic reason is the impact being made by resistance to potential coal bed methane mining and the dumping of phosphates in Flathead water.
Coalition chairman Dave Hadden herded everyone upstairs just after 6 p.m. There was a scramble to set up more chairs to accommodate the overflow crowd. After all, it’s a hot issue in the Flathead, especially south of the Canadian-U.S. border.
What was most impressive to me is that everyone there — at least those who spoke — saw the damage that coal bed mining by British Petroleum (BP) in the Canadian Flathead would do to the Flathead River and Glacier National Park in general.
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From the Wednesday, November 21, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Potential industrial development in the Canadian Flathead drainage is gaining a higher profile in British Columbia, with possible environmental consequences that would counter international law, Canadian speakers said at a gathering Monday in Whitefish.
Richard Paisley, an international water law expert from the University of British Columbia, was among the speakers at an open house sponsored by the Flathead Coalition, a group of Montanans concerned about potential coal and gas development north of the border.
Paisley said there is a growing body of international law that supports the position that fish, wildlife and water resources in Montana’s North Fork Flathead River drainage would be adversely impacted by coal and gas development north of the border.
“On this one, you are fighting on the side of the angels, because you have international law on your side,” he said.
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From the Monday, November 19, 2007 online edition of the Flathead Beacon . . .
Speaking to the Flathead Coalition Monday night about mining projects in British Columbia north of Glacier National Park, an expert in international water and energy law told concerned valley residents that legal precedent is on the side of Montanans.
"On this one, you’re fighting on the side of the angels," Richard Paisley, professor of law at the University of British Columbia, said. "You’ve got international law on your side."
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From an AFP article (including some very nice photos) posted on Monday, November 19, 2007 . . .
Two ambitious energy exploration projects in western Canada are raising fears among US environmentalists of irreversible ecological damage to a pristine expanse of the famed Rocky Mountains.
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From the Wednesday, November 7, 2007 online edition of The Globe and Mail . . .
Another skirmish is brewing in the continuing battle between British Columbia and Montana over potential resource development north of the border and its impact on rivers flowing into the United States.
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is now questioning the province's commitment to prevent any coal-bed methane (CBM) projects from dumping wastewater from gas wells into drainages that eventually flow south to Montana.
At the same time, he is raising concerns about a phosphate exploratory drilling project in the same area, recently completed by privately held Paget Resources Corp. of Vancouver.
The more pressing issue, from Mr. Schweitzer's perspective, is a CBM pilot project run by junior exploration company Storm Cat Energy Corp. of Denver. The company confirmed it has a permit from the B.C. government to discharge wastewater from its pilot project into Brit Creek, a tributary of the Elk River. The Elk River flows into Lake Koocanusa, which straddles the B.C.-Montana border.
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From the Saturday, November 3, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Several Montana conservation groups are concerned about plans to expand a coal-bed methane operation with continued discharge of wastewater into an Elk River tributary.
And, a mining company was reportedly test drilling last month for phosphate deposits in the Cabin Creek area, a tributary to the North Fork Flathead River.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said he recently learned that the company, which he did not identify, drilled test wells from Oct. 18 to 23, with permission from the provincial government.
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From the Friday, November 2, 2007 online edition of the Flathead Beacon . . .
Montana's senior U.S. senator and several conservation groups said Friday they are alarmed anew about prospects for industrial work in southeastern British Columbia, north of Montana's Glacier National Park.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said another mining project that he finds "potentially devastating" is planned at the headwaters of the North Fork Flathead River. The North Fork forms the western boundary of Glacier and flows into Montana's Flathead Lake. Opponents of mining in the southeastern area of the province say the work could harm water quality downstream in Montana.
The National Parks Conservation Association and others Friday raised concern about a different matter. They expressed alarm about water disposal for what they said will be the province's first commercial production of coal-bed methane. Extracting methane from coal seams brings forth salty water, and its disposal is controversial.
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