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6TuesdayJuly222014Pleaseleaveamessageat872-5543fordetails.WESCLEANNORTHERNSALESLTD.FemaleAdultgreyandwhitemixLookingforanewhomeThenexttimeyouseeParisyourheartwillbebrightandgay.HercuddlesandherlittlepurrswillbrightenupyourdayBoarddelaysdecisiononConocoPhillipsfrackingplansByMEAGANWOHLBERGTheSahtuLandandWaterBoardhasdecidedtodeferadecisiononConocoPhillipsapplicationtodrillandhy-draulicallyfracturemultiplewellsintheCanolshaleoilplayoftheCentralMack-enzieregionintheNWT.Inalettersentoutear-lierthismonththeboardissuedfurtherrequestsforinformationtothecompanyonthesafetyofitsfrackingwastewaterdisposalplansanditswatermonitoringprogram.TheBoardrequiresCon-ocoPhillipstoprovideevi-dencethatdehydrationevap-orationtechnologiesareabletoprocessowbackuidswithoutreleasingcontami-nantstotheairlandandorwatertheletterreads.Thisissuewasbroughtupbynumerousreviewersitnotes.Theletterfurtherre-queststhatConocoPhillipsprovideasummaryofre-visionstoitsgroundwaterandsurfacewatermoni-toringprogram.Arevisedplanisexpectedtobesub-mittedbyfall.AletterissuedatthesametimetotheOfficeoftheRegulatorofOilandGasOperationsrequeststhenewterritorialregula-torstepinonavarietyofmatterslikeevaluatingthecompanysplansforflowtestingwellboreintegrityandimpactsonpermafrost.Theboardnotesthatpotentialforchangesingroundwaterandsurfacewaterqualityisoneoftheprimarysourcesofpublicconcern.BoththeregulatorandConocoPhillipshaveuntilJuly25torespondtotheadditionalrequests.Thisisthesecondtimethecompanyhasbeenhitwithrequestsformoreinforma-tionfollowingthesubmis-sionofitsproposaltodrillupto10wellsoverthenextveyears-twowellsperyear-nearNormanWellsinMarch.ConocoPhillipsapplica-tionwasdeemedincom-pletebytheboardinAprilaftertheboarddecidedthesubmissionlackedsufcientinformationtodeterminewhetherornotafullenvi-ronmentalassessmentoftheprojectwasneeded.ThedelaywontaffectConocoPhillipsintheshort-termasthecompanycan-celleditsplanstodrillthiswinterduetoalackofcap-italfundingfortheexplor-atoryproject.DrillingisnotexpectedtobeginatthecompanysSahtupropertyuntil2016.IndustryOilGasConocoPhillipsdrillsforshaleoilduringitsinauguralhorizontalfrackingprojectlastwinterintheSahturegionnearNormanWells.PhotocourtesyofConocoPhillipsACFNpullsoutofGrandRapidshearingsprocessByMEAGANWOHLBERGCitingabiasedreviewprocesstheAthabascaChipewyanFirstNationACFNabruptlypulledoutofhearingsontheGrandRapidspipelinelastweek.The3-billionjointven-turebetweenTransCanadaandPetrochinasCana-dianarmPhoenixEnergyHoldingswouldseea500-kmdualpipelinetransport900000barrelsofoilperdayfromwestofFortMc-MurraytoEdmontontolinkwiththenationalandinter-nationalgrid.ACFNChiefAllanAdamsaidtheAlbertaEnergyRegulatorsAERhearingprocesswasprejudicedinfavourofindustryandputimpossibletimelinesontheFirstNation.TheAERputusinanimpossiblesituation.Iamdumbfoundedbythispro-cessAdamsaid.Thisnewregulatoryprocessisfunda-mentallyawed.Itissup-posedtobethetestofthenewregulatoryregimeforoilandgasandpipelinesinAlberta.Yetithasseriouslyunderminedoureffortstoad-dressanyconcernsaboutFirstNationsimpactshesaid.AccordingtoACFNtherewasnoassessmentdoneonthepipelinesimpactsonAboriginalandtreatyrightsincludingharvestingrightslikehuntingfishingandtrapping.ACFNslegalcoun-selnotedduringthehear-ingsthatmanyofthecom-panysplansareincompleteincludingthoseforcaribouprotectionenvironmentalprotectionspillcontingencyandsafety.TheGrandRapidshear-ingsdemonstratedhowtheAlbertagovernmentiswill-ingtoputthecartbeforethehorsesaidLorraineLandACFNslawyerfromOlthuisKleerTownshendLLP.TransCanadasappli-cationincludedincompletestudiesandreportsandyettheAERstillgrantedafasttrackedhearingwhereTrans-Canadacontinuedtosubmitlastminuteevidence.ACFNwasraisingconcernsthatshouldconcernallAlbertans.HowcanyouensuresafetyandprotecttheenvironmentifyouhaventevencompletedthenecessarystudiesAdamsaidthecompanywasallowedtosubmititsnalapplicationtwoweeksbeforethehearingsleavingtheFirstNationandotherin-tervenorsinsufcienttimetoreviewthedocuments.HealsosaidtwoweeksforapipelinethesizeofGrandRapidsisnotlongenoughconsideringthepipeline-dubbedbyACFNasthemotherofallpipelines-isplannedtolinkupwithotherpipelinesbothexistingandplannedincludingthepro-posedKeystoneXLtotheGulfCoast.AERspokespersonDarinBartertoldTheJournalthatelectronicversionsoftheapplicationmaterialswereprovidedtoallpartiesonoraroundApr.29andthathardcopieswereonlyprovidedtothoserequestingthem.Hesaidthenalsubmis-sionfromthecompanywasmadeinJunebuttheonlychangesmadeweretothepaginationofbindermate-rialsnotthecontentitself.BartersaidtheAERisre-quiredtosettimelimitsfordirectevidencecrossex-aminationandclosingargu-mentstoensurehearingsruneffectively.Hearingparticipantswereconsultedontimelimits.Conrmationoftimelimitswasdistributedtoallpartiesviaregisteredletterandtheywereadvisedthatthetimelinewasaguidelinehesaidnot-ingthatthemajorityofpar-tiesdidnotusethefulltimeallottedduringtherstpor-tionofthehearingswhichranforthreedaysinJune.ACFNwantedtoseeana-tionalreviewoftheprojectsimilartotheonecarriedoutforEnbridgesNorthernGatewaypipelinewhichifbuiltwouldtransportabouthalftheloadofbitumenplannedforGrandRapids.WhiletheNationalEn-ergyBoardwasapproachedregardingthepipelinethenationalregulatorrefusedtotakeonthereviewstat-ingthatitwasanAlbertaproject.Otherthanthefactthatthehearingisrelatedtoapipelinethereisnoaccuratecomparisonbetweenanin-terprovincialpipelinecross-ingseveralthousandkilome-tresofterrainGatewayandheldbytheNationalEnergyBoardandaprovincialhear-ingintoapipelinecontainedentirelywithinAlbertaandcrossing500kilometresoflandBartersaid.AthabascaChipewyanFirstNationChiefAllanAdamsayshearingsfortheGrandRapidspipelinefromFortMcMurraytoEdmontonhavebeenbiasedinfavourofindustry.PhotoMeaganWohlbergPoliticsFirstNations