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Shale Gas in New Brunswick: We need your Leadership — An Open Letter to Premier David Alward

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Dear Hon. David Alward,

I have been closely following the protests and blockade near Rexton, NB. It has been heartening to see members of the Elsipogtog First Nation, Acadian, and Anglo communities collaborate over the common goal of protecting the natural resources of our beautiful province. It has been shocking to see the RCMP act violently against the citizens of this province to protect the assets of a foreign company. [ Video: Showdown at Highway 134]

I was born and raised in Fredericton, and cherish having the St. John River in my backyard. I understand the frustration the local community must feel at the prospect of shale gas exploration and fracking causing the contamination of their wells, rivers, tributaries, and farm fields.

You must acknowledge the widespread dissension in NB over shale gas in a meaningful way: you must declare a moratorium, and consult with the community. Pay SWN Resources Canada whatever penalty they demand for stalling their business: it is worth it.

SWN is a foreign company; their interest is singularly profit-based. They have no stake in the lives of New Brunswickers. This is to be expected. What is shocking is that you are their biggest advocate, stating they are “abiding by all regulations”, etc. No one is claiming SWN are engaged in illegal activities. Rather, they are doing something destructive and immoral, and you are enabling the process.

There must be a way to move through the recession in New Brunswick without decimating the health of the people, and the land itself, in exchange for cash. We need your leadership now to dive into all options, and value what is best for the people of this province above what is best for the owners of SWN.

I’ve compiled a list of resources for you and Minister of Energy Craig Leonard to review to further inform your stance on shale gas (included below). I am confident you cannot in good conscience move forward once you know the facts.

Map of blocks of land David Alward licensed to SWN for exploration.

 

Health impacts of fracking and shale gas drilling:

Chemical and Biological Risk Assessment for Natural Gas Extraction in New York
Ronald E. Bishop, Ph.D., CHO
Chemistry and Biochemistry Department
State University of New York, College at Oneonta
Draft, January 21, 2011
Click Here

Fracking: Implications for Human and Environmental Health, Collaborative on Health and Environment (CHE) Conference call, Nov 9, 2010
– Background Information/Resources: Click Here
– Listen to the MP3 recording: Click Here
– Speakers: Sandra Steingraber, PhD, Theo Colborn, PhD, Dr. Tony Ingraffea, PhD, Wes Wilson, retired EPA: Click Here

‘Fracking’ Pollution In Water: Pennsylvania Allows Natural Gas Drilling Waste Disposal In Waterways
An account of the lack of effective disposal of contaminated fracking wastewater. Important lessons about how companies can circumvent regulation, and the necessity for “daily monitoring.”
Click Here

Natural Gas Operations from a Public Health Perspective
Theo Colborn, Carol Kwiatkowski, Kim Schultz, and Mary Bachran
IN PRESS: Accepted for publication in the International Journal of Human
and Ecological Risk Assessment, September 4, 2010.
Expected publication: September-October 2011.
TEDX, The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Paonia, CO, USA [full pdf]
Click Here

Poisoned families: four case studies of the impacts of dirty drilling in the Barnett Shale
Sharon Wilson, Texas organizer with Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project (OGAP) collected these case studies for presentation to the EPA. Also included is information on drops in property values and links to letters from physicians.
Click Here

Research and Policy Recommendations for Hydraulic Fracturing and Shale Gas Extraction, Robert B. Jackson, Brooks Rainey Pearson, Stephen G. Osborn,Nathaniel R. Warner, Avner Vengosh, Duke University, Durham, N.C., May, 2011
Click Here

Testimony before NYC City Council on Natural Gas Drilling, Statement of Dusty Horwitt, JD, Senior Counsel, Environmental Working Group, October 2009
Click Here

The Case for a Ban on Gas Fracking, Food and Water Watch, June 13, 2011.
Click Here

What you need to know about Natural Gas Production [Video]
Dr. Theo Colborn of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX) presents an informative, clear and thorough documentary video on the chemicals used in fracking and their health impacts. 48 minutes
Click Here

Resources: Fracking and the release of radioactive substances

Regulations Lax as Tainted Water Hits Rivers, Ian Urbina, February 26, 2011, NY Times
Click Here

Statement to Bradford County Commissioners, Crystal Stroud, Towanda Pennsylvania, April 28, 2011
The statement documents barium and other radiologicals contaminating Stroud’s well water and health problems she now suffers
Click Here

Prominent environment attorney: Fracking radiation injuring Gulf Peoples
Includes information about TENORM, Technologically Enhanced Radioactive Material, which is produced when activities such as uranium mining, oil and gas production or sewage sludge treatment concentrate or expose naturally occurring radioactive materials in ores, soils, water, or other natural materials. TENORM ,defined by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences as: “Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials”, refers to are any naturally occurring radioactive materials not subject to regulation under the Atomic Energy Act whose radio nuclide concentrations or potential for human exposure have been increased above levels encountered in the natural state by human activities. While federal and state agencies have tried to develop ways to protect humans and the environment from harmful exposure to the radiation in such materials, TERM remains a challenging problem in the United States.
Click Here
Resources: Major overviews of fracking and shale gas

Drilling Down series, New York Times
This link will take you to part one, which contains links to the other parts of the series, and to documentation on which the series was based, including 30,000 pages of information obtained through FOI. The series contains important information which has been suppressed until now about the inherent hazards of fracking.
Click Here

Fracking the Future: How Unconventional Gas Threatens Our Water, Health and Climate, Carol Linnett et al, May 6, 2011.
Click Here

Fracture Lines: Will Canada’s Water be Protected in the Rush to Develop Shale Gas?, By Ben Parfitt
For the Program on Water Issues, Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, September 15, 2010
This paper provides a comprehensive study of the impact of shale gas development on Canada’s water. It was written before the information was obtained about fracking wastewater containing high levels of radioactive materials.
Click Here


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