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Tuesday June 9 2015 15 Protectingthe environment creatingprosperity. OneyearagotheGNWTassumedresponsibilitiesforawell-developed environmentalprotectionandregulatorysystem. Ahealthywell-managedenvironmentwillsustainallNWTresidentsandisthe foundationforahealthylife.Ourintegratedco-managementsystemprotectsthe economicsocialandculturalwell-beingofallresidents.Investmentsinmanaging ournaturalresourcestogetherpayoffinthehealthofourpeopleandthestrength ofoureconomy. Theregulatorysystemwenowmanagebalancesourcommitmenttorealizeour economicpotentialinallregionswhileprotectingthelandandenvironmentthat hassustainedourpeopleforgenerations. TheresourcesectoristhesinglelargestcontributortotheNWTeconomy.Mining hascreatedmorethan28000jobsandproduced46billioninmineralssince theearly1930s.Ourterritoryhasworld-classoilandnaturalgasreservesandhas hadanactivepetroleumindustryforalmostacentury. TheGNWTiscommittedtoworkingwithAboriginalgovernmentsNWT residentsandindustrytorefinetheregulatorysystemtoreflectnorthern prioritiesandprovidegreatercertainty. April 1 marked the one-year anniversary of Devolution in the NWT. In the first year there were 7 water licences signed by a GNWT minister all in less than 45 days 2196 active mineral claims 8 projects funded under the Mining Incentive Program 5 new environmental management programs being delivered by the GNWT Fort Smith Seniors SocietyFort Smith Seniors Society ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 130 p.m. Tuesday June 23 2015 Seniors Room - Rec. Centre All seniors welcome By MEAGAN WOHLBERG The NWT chapter of the Council of Cana- dians says Northerners need more rigorous monitoring and reporting when it comes to ConocoPhillips well inspection and aban- donment plans in the Sahtu region. The company recently submitted an ap- plication to the Sahtu Land and Water Board SLWB to cap eight wells on its lease south of Norman Wells this winter. Those include the two horizontal wells hydrauli- cally fractured in the winter of 2014 and the two vertical wells drilled in the winter of 2013. The company also wants to offi- cially abandon its four groundwater evalu- ation wells drilled to support the explora- tion program. Once the wells are capped ConocoPhillips plans to inspect them in the spring of 2016. In the absence of any problems the wells will be inspected once every ve years or until the company decides to close them for good. According to Lois Little of the Council of Canadians that level of monitoring is not sufcient. Our main concern is that ConocoPhillips is walking away and we dont know what they are leaving behind she said. While the company agreed to disclose all of the chemical additives used during its fracking operationsin2014Littlequestionedthetrans- parency of disclosure sites like FracFocus.ca which allow trade secrets to be withheld from submissions. ConocoPhillips well closure plans cause concern Further self-reporting does not replace public accountability by a recognized pub- lic authority. This registry also doesnt re- quire reporting on volumes left onsite and in the ground or on produced uids. So we are totally in the dark on what toxic materi- als are being left behind she said. The groups other concern revolves around a perceived lack of monitoring and public reporting. We know the myths about fracking well casings. About seven per cent of them leak and leakage rates increase as they age Little said. Monitoring every five years is just not good enough especially given the lack of public knowledge about these casings in this type of terrain and climate and about migration of frac fluids into the groundwater. Overall there is a lack of transparency and accountability in this project. This is what happens when projects are approved with- out environmental assessment she said. The Council sent their input on the appli- cation to the SLWB last week recommend- ing full public disclosure of the total volume of fracking uidschemicals that were used recovered and left in the ground during both exploratory drilling programs. They have also requested full public dis- closure of the produced uids that may have arisen from the wells with a changed chemi- cal composition due to possible reactions oc- curring during the fracking process. Apart from disclosure the Council asks for a rigorous plan with respect to the regular monitoring and reporting of groundwater quality in the vicinity of the four exploratory wells and a plan for immediately responding to a well casing leak. ConocoPhillips was approached for com- ment but did not respond as of press time. The application is open for public comment until June 12 at 959 p.m. MST. PhotocourtesyofConocoPhillips Don and Sandra Jaque of Fort Smith are pleased to announce the engagement of our son Aaron Jaque and Laurence Rivet-Gareau daughter of Diane Gareau and Pierre Rivet of Montreal Que. The celebration of their marriage will take place August 8 2015 at Les Jardins de lAchill Millefeuille near Mont Tremblant Que. INDUSTRY OIL GAS ConocoPhillips plans to cap all four of its exploratory wells located south of Norman Wells this winter. After a spring inspection the company plans to inspect those wells once every ve years.