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7TuesdayFebruary112014MLAwantsfullreviewofSahtuwaterlicenserenewalImperialOilaskingforanother10yearsofdrillingnearNormanWellsIndustryOilGasByMEAGANWOHLBERGSahtuMLANormanYake-leyasaysImperialOilsap-plicationtorenewitswaterlicensefordrillingnearNor-manWellsshouldgotoafullenvironmentalassessmentsoconcernsaboutwaterqual-ityfrompeopledownstreamcanbeaddressedbeforehand.Imperialwhosewaterli-censeexpiresattheendofAugustthisyearisapply-ingfora10-yearextensionfromtheSahtuLandandWaterBoardSLWBonitsoperationsintheNormanWellsProvenArea.Technicalsessionsregard-ingthecompanysapplica-tiontookplaceinmid-Jan-uaryandpublichearingsarescheduledforApril.YakeleyasaidthepeopleofFortGoodHopewhodrawtheirwaterfromtheMacken-zieRiverdownstreamhavebeenaskingforawatermoni-toringstationandlaboratoryforyearsandareconcernedthat10moreyearsofdrillingbyImperialcouldnegativelyimpactthewater.Whenyouhave1.5bil-lionlitresgoingbackintotheMackenzieRiverthepeopleofFortGoodHopedontreallyhavethere-sourcestoquestionImperialsoperationstoknowwhattypesofeffectsitsgoingtohaveonpeopleinthelongtermYakeleyasaid.Thelicenseunderreviewallowsfortheremovalof3.5billionlitresoffreshwaterfromtheMackenzieRivereachyeartobeusedinitsop-erations.Between2004and2012thecompanydrewanaverageof2.63billionlitres.OfthewaterdrawnfromtheMackenzieabouthalfisinjectedintothereservoirforpressuremaintenanceandtheotherhalfreturnedtotheriver.WaterusedforcoolingisdischargedintoasettlingpondwhereitistestedforoilandgreasehydrocarbonspHsuspendedsolidschlo-rineandconductivitybeforeitisreleased.TestresultsaresubmittedtotheSLWB.AccordingtoImperialspokespersonPiusRolheisertherehavebeennowaterqualityissueswiththewaterdischargedintotheMacken-zieoverthelastdecade.AllofthedownstreamtestingthatImperialhasdonetodateindicatesthattherearenoadverseeffectsonriverwaterqualitydown-streamofouroperationhetoldTheJournal.WewillcertainlybespeakingtothatinmuchgreaterdetailatthehearingitselfandIdontwanttopreemptthat.Asidefromminorchangestothelicensewhichdonotaffectwaterwithdrawalortreatmenttheapplicationremainslargelythesame.TheamountofthewaterthatImperialintendstowith-drawremainsthesameRol-heisersaid.Thoughthedischargedwateristestedforallcon-taminantsYakeleyasaidthereleaseofitbackintotheriverstillraisesquestionsaboutqualityandthehealthofshwildlifeandhumans.Astudyin2010bythedepartmentofFisheriesandOceansshowedlevelsofmer-curyPCBsandDDTwererisingrapidlyinMackenzieRivershnearFortGoodHopeatrendlinkedtocli-matechange.YakeleyasaidpeopleinFortGoodHopecomplainofabnormallyhighratesofcancerintheircommunityandhavenotruledoutindus-tryspossiblerole.Theyshouldreallybeaskingforanenvironmentalassessmentonthewater.WehavenevertakenthiswaterlicensethroughanEA.Itim-mediatelywenttothelandandwaterboardhesaid.Whatarethelong-termeffectsontheshontheanimalsandmoreimportantlydoesithaveanyeffectsonthepeopleinregardstotheircancerHewantstoseeanassess-mentofthecumulativeim-pactsdonebyindependentmonitorstoaddressthoseconcerns.IthinkitssoimportantthatthepeopleinFortGoodHopefeelsomesenseofcomfort.TheirconcernsarelegitimateYakeleyasaid.Rolheisersaidthecompanyislookingforwardtotheup-cominghearingswherealltechnicalstaffwillbeonboardtoexplainthewaterusetreatmentanddischargeprocess.Therewillbeampleop-portunityforpeopletovoiceconcernsiftheyhavethemtoaskquestionsandtogetanswerstothosequestionshesaid.FilephotoImperialOilswaterlicensetodrillnearNormanWellsincludingonthearticialislandsexpiresthisAugust.