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PoliticsEnergy7TuesdayAugust19201414083DG0AlbertasnewminimumwagesOnSeptember12014Albertasgeneralminimumwagewillincreasefrom9.95to10.20anhour.Theliquorserverminimumwagewillincreasefrom9.05to9.20perhour.Minimumwagesarereviewedannually.IncreasesarebasedonchangestoAverageWeeklyEarningsandtheConsumerPriceIndexinAlberta.Formoreinformationaboutemploymentstandardscall1-877-427-3731orvisitwork.alberta.caesSahtuDeneMtiscallforregionalfrackingreviewByMEAGANWOHLBERGDeneandMtisintheSahtusettlementregionarecallingontheirleadersandthegov-ernmentoftheNorthwestTer-ritoriestoconductacompre-hensivereviewofthepotentialrisksandbenetsofhydraulicfracturingintheregionratherthanconsideringapplicationsonacase-by-casebasis.AresolutionpassedattheSahtuannualgeneralassem-blytwoweeksagoaskstheSahtuSecretariatInc.SSIandGNWTtoestablishajointcommissiontoreviewthetechnicalenvironmen-taleconomicandregulatoryaspectsoffrackingaswellasthetechnicalcapacityoftheGNWTinregulatingandmonitoringtheuncon-ventionaloilandgasdrill-ingpractice.HavinganenvironmentalassessmentofasingleprojectintheSahtuisnotgoingtogivepeopletheanswersthatpeopleneedtounderstandthenatureandextentofthisin-dustrythatcouldbeinfrontofthemsaidNWTMPDennisBevingtonwhorstbroughtforwardtheideaforaregionalstudyattheassembly.AccordingtoMarkCliffe-PhillipsexecutivedirectoroftheMackenzieValleyEnvi-ronmentalImpactReviewBoardthereisanewprovisionwithintheMackenzieVal-leyResourceManagementActMVRMAforregionalstudiesbutthatsectionhasyettocomeintoforce.BevingtonsaiditwouldmakesenseiftheSahtude-cidestoheadinthatdirectiontohavetheGNWTenterinastheproponent.Theyregoingintoplan-ningexercisesfortranspor-tationtheyrelookingatregulationsfortheindustrytheyredoinganumberofthingsthataredirectlyrelatedthatmaybeaswellintercon-nectedBevingtonsaid.RightnowthefederalministerofAboriginalAf-fairsandNorthernDevel-opmentwouldberesponsi-bleforsettinguparegionalstudybutthatauthoritymaybedelegatedtotheGNWTaspartofdevolutionCliffe-Phillipssaid.OfcialsfromtheGNWTrefusedtocommentonthematterbeforetheresolutionhasmadeitswaythroughthedepartmentofAboriginalandIntergovernmentalAffairsthoughrequestsmadeearlierthisyearbymembersofthepublicandWeledehMLABobBromleytohavetheGNWTreferallnewfrack-ingapplicationstoenviron-mentalassessmentwerere-jectedwithministersstatingtheyarecondentfrackingcanberegulatedproperlyonago-forwardbasisdespiteitbeingarst-timeaffairfortheterritoryandthenewNWTregulator.Whilearegionalstudycouldbedonebythegovern-mentoutsideoftheregula-toryprocessBevingtonsaidtherearebenetstohavinganindependentboardcon-ductthereview.MorevaluablethanEADanielTSeleiealawstu-dentfromFortGoodHopewhoauthoredapetitionear-lierthisyearcallingforafullpublicreviewoffrackingintheSahtusaidtheproposalraisedbyBevingtonwouldprovidepeopleintheregionwithamorecomprehensiveoverviewofthefrackingpro-cessanditspotentialimpactsthanaone-projectassessment.Ifapproachedproperlyitwouldideallygivepeopleapictureofwhatthisfrack-ingoperationisgoingtolooklikesay1020yearsintothefuturehesaid.UnlikeinFortNelsonB.C.whereTSeleiesaidlocalFirstNationsweresteamrolledbythefrackingindustryal-mostovernightcommuni-tiesintheSahtuwantaclearideaofwhatcouldbecomingdownthepipe.Rightnowrighthereinthecommunitiespeoplearetalk-ingaboutwaterlicencestodotwoor10explorationwellshesaid.Noonesreallytalk-ingaboutiftheygotoproduc-tiononall11leaseswhatitsgoingtolooklikewhatitsgoingtolooklikeifallthesecompaniesonalltheseleasesactuallyexploitthatresource.Intheeventoffull-blownshaleoilproductionintheSahtuTSeleiesaidcertainissuesliketoxicwastewaterdisposaltotalwaterusageinfrastructurelikeroadsandhousingandthepossibilityofanewpipelinewillbecomeimminent.Hewantsresidentstobepreparedforthepossiblecumulativeimpactsandscaleoftheindustrybeforehand.Thisisnotpartofthedis-courseandthecompaniesandthegovernmentarenotbring-ingthisup.TheywanttodoitpiecemealpiecebypieceonewaterlicenceapplicationatatimeandnotlookatthebigpictureTSeleiesaid.SofaronlyonecompanyhasconductedhorizontalfrackingintheNWTbutthatcouldchangeinthenearfu-ture.ConocoPhillipswhichfrackedtwowellsintheSahtulastwinterrecentlyreceivedpermittingtodrillupto10morewellsintheregionoverthenextveyears.Thewaythesethingspro-ceedquiteoftenisthatcompa-niesstarttogettheirfootinthedoorandthenthingsescalateandbeforeyouknowityoucouldhavehundredsofwellsoverthere.OncetheystartbuildingupinfrastructureoncetheystartbuildingwellsoncetheyhavetheirroadsandtheirlandingstripsthereitshardtostopthatoncetheballisrollingTSeleiesaid.ConocoPhillipsaresatoneofitsfrackingsitesintheSahtulastwinternearNormanWells.PhotoRogerOdgaard