Mailing address:
3536 - 106 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T6J 1A4
Phone: 403-436-5652
Fax: 403-437-0719
September 28, 1994
Attachments to the following mail-out are quoted extensively in the narrative
and are 139 pages long. The cost of including them in a general mail-out is
therefore very high and of questionable value for most people. Consequently
the attachments are not included but are available upon request. A list of
attachments available upon request is as follows:
1.) October 08, 1993 letter from Unocal to the Lubicons;
2.) December 09, 1993 letter from the Lubicons to Unocal;
3.) July 08, 1994, letter from the Lubicons to the ERCB;
4.) July 14, 1994 letter from the ERCB to Unocal;
5.) July 19, 1994 letter with attachments from Unocal to the
Lubicons;
6.) August 08, 1994 letter from the Lubicons to the ERCB;
7.) August 18, 1994 letter with attachments pertaining to the Alberta
Power application from the ERCB to the Lubicons;
8.) August 19, 1994, letter from the Lubicons to the ERCB;
9.) August 19, 1994 letter from Unocal to the Lubicons;
10.) August 23, 1994, letter from the ERCB to the Lubicons;
11.) August 25, 1994, letter from Unocal to the Lubicons;
12.) August 25, 1994, Edmonton Journal article on discussion of the
Lubicon situation by the Taiga Rescue Network conference;
13.) August 26, 1994, Edmonton Journal article on Lubicon
opposition to the Unocal sour gas processing plant;
14.) August 26, 1994 letter from Unocal to the ERCB;
15.) August 28, 1994, Taiga Rescue Network Resolution on the
Lubicons;
16.) August 29, 1994 letter from the ERCB to the Lubicons;
17.) August 29, 1994 letter from the ERCB to Unocal;
18.) August 31, 1994 letter from Unocal to the Lubicons;
19.) September 01, 1994 letter with attachments from Unocal to the
Lubicons;
20.) September 07, 1994 letter from Friends of the Lubicon
(Toronto) to Unocal;
21.) September 09, 1994 letter from Unocal to Friends of the
Lubicon (Toronto);
22.) September 09, 1994 Greenpeace memo on impacts of sour gas
development;
23.) September 19, 1994 letter from the Lubicons to the ERCB;
24.) September 20, 1994 letter from the ERCB to Fred Lennarson;
25.) September 20, 1994 letter from Fred Lennarson to the ERCB;
26.) September 23, 1994 letter from Friends of the Lubicon
(Toronto) to Unocal;
27.) September 27, 1994 letter from Unocal to the Lubicons;
28.) September 27, 1994 letter from the Lubicons to Unocal;
29.) September 28, 1994 Edmonton Journal article on high natural gas
prices and the growing U.S. natural gas market entitled "Oilpatch
rides crest of mini-boom".
* * * * * * * * *
(Originally underlined parts have been converted to capital letters by
myself. R.L.)
Lubicon Lake Indian Nation
Little Buffalo Lake, Alberta
Phone: 403-629-3945
Fax: 403-629-3939
Mailing address:
3536 - 106 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T6J 1A4
Phone: 403-436-5652
Fax: 403-437-0719
September 28, 1994
Facing a Federal Indian Affairs Minister who is essentially taking the
position that the Lubicon people must cede their aboriginal rights in order to
talk about a settlement of those rights, and Provincial officials who are
actively seeking to undermine the hard won Grimshaw (reserve land) Accord on
which hope for a negotiated settlement of Lubicon land rights hinges, the
Lubicon people are now also facing the spectre of a new $10 million sour gas
(hydrogen sulphide) processing plant which has been hurriedly constructed
literally a stone's throw away from the proposed Lubicon reserve.
Of course nobody in their right mind would build a sour gas processing plant
next to a human community or vice versa. The Lubicon people have no place
else to be but such a consideration has never been of concern to either the
multi-national resource exploitation companies or their cronies in the Alberta
Provincial government. In fact given the history of the Lubicon struggle it's
certainly not inconceivable that current Provincial government efforts to
break the Grimshaw Accord are directly related to apparently significant sour
gas reserves located in the area agreed at Grimshaw combined with currently
high natural gas prices and a growing U.S. natural gas market.
The new sour gas processing plant in the Lubicon territory has been built by
Unocal Canada Management Limited -- the Canadian affiliate of Union Oil of
California. It is a 27.8 mmacfd sour gas processing plant with a 2400
horsepower compressor which knowledgable sources describe as "huge". It was
approved by the relevant Provincial regulatory agency -- the Energy Resources
Conservation Board (ERCB) -- based on inaccurate information and following
suspect procedures.
While sour gas processing plants are still fiercely defended by self-
interested oil companies and their cronies in the Alberta Provincial
government as a perfectly safe and sane way to make bushel baskets of money,
there is in fact considerable evidence and growing concern that they are
neither safe nor sane. Those concerns include:
1.) ground water contamination from waste ponds which rendered half of
the wells on the Stoney Indian Reserve at Morley unusable and
which would be particularly worrisome for the Lubicons given the
high water table and other potable water problems in the Lubicon
area. (Historically the Lubicons have obtained their drinking
water from creeks, lakes, rainwater and from melting snow -- all
of which are now already problematic as a result of contamination
from existing gas and oil exploitation activity);
2.) possible leaks of lethal hydrogen sulphide gas which can kill
literally within seconds;
3.) a variety of significant health and environmental problems which
result from chronic exposure to the low levels of sulphurous and
other gases emitted by sour gas processing plants under the best
of conditions;
4.) the contribution which the new sour gas processing plant will make
to the total cumulative concentration of sulphurous and other
gases already in the atmosphere from multiple sources of the type
known to exist in the Lubicon territory such as oil well flares,
the Shell "In Situ" Oil Sands Recovery Plant and the Daishowa
Kraft Pulp Mill. (In supposedly assessing the potential health
and environmental impact of a new sour gas processing plant the
focus is always on the amount of sulphurous and other gases which
will be generated by that new plant -- not on the total, typically
unknown concentration of sulphurous and other gases already in the
atmosphere from multiple sources PLUS that which will be
contributed by a new facility. The serious health and
environmental problems associated with sour gas processing plants
are of course caused by the TOTAL amount of sulphurous and other
gases in the atmosphere -- not by only that part of the total
concentration contributed by some specific new facility.)
The occupational health standard in Alberta is 10 parts of hydrogen sulphide
per million parts of atmosphere over an 8 hour period at the plant site. That
standard is based on healthy adults working at the plant site over a normal 8
hour working day. However no consideration is given to the cumulative effect
of multiple sources or to the affect of this level of exposure upon young
people, old people or people with respiratory and other health problems. In
addition chronic levels of exposure as low as one part per million (ppm) are
known to cause significant health problems similar to asthma in laboratory
rats and brain damage in fetal rats adversely affecting such key cerebral
functions as learning behaviour, fine motor control and memory.
Laboratory rats are not the only form of life known to be adversely affected
by chronic low level exposure to the sulphurous and other gases associated
with sour gas processing plants. Vegetation is also known to be adversely
affected. Hay, grass and trees growing 6 km. away from a Norcen sour gas
processing plant east of St. Albert -- which is about 1/18th the size of the
huge new Unocal plant and has a 40% taller flare stack equipped with
supposedly effective sulphur removing technology -- are reportedly producing
"weird looking growth abnormalities" and previously healthy trees are dying.
(The death of whole forests due to the related phenomenon of acid rain is of
course a matter of well documented international concern.)
Large domestic farm animals similar to the moose upon which the Lubicons have
historically depended for food are known to be adversely affected by sour gas
processing plants as well. Eight cattle from a cattle herd located 6 kms.
away from the much smaller Norcen plant east of St. Albert died in the first
two weeks of plant operation and several others developed severe health
problems. In the next three years the cattle in that same cattle herd
experienced increased respiratory problems, problems with an eye condition
called "red eye", breeding problems, abnormal twinning, birth defects,
spontaneous abortions, stillborn calves and the size of the herd dropped by a
third from 350 to 250. (Not surprisingly Norcen denies that their plant has
anything to do with these problems but the fact remains that the problems
didn't exist until the plant was built.)
Similarly worrisome is evidence of adverse affects upon cattle in the area
around another gas processing plant owned by Shell at Caroline. Cattle 20
kms. away from the Shell sour gas processing plant at Caroline are reportedly
experiencing "severe depression of their immune systems". According to one
source "their immune systems are literally being wiped out". A veterinarian
toxicologist working for the Alberta Environmental Centre says that the damage
to the immune system of cattle is particularly notable in young animals.
What adversely affects plants and animals of course can't be good for people
either. People living 25 kms. away from another Shell sour gas processing
plant at Pincher Creek report headaches, fatigue, stomach cramps, nausea,
vomiting, burning eyes, skin rashes, birth defects, cancer and a variety of
problems with nose, sinus and respiratory system including asthma. (A $3.7
million dollar study financed by the Alberta Provincial government concluded
that the people in the area of the Pincher Creek sour gas processing plant
report more health problems than people living elsewhere simply because
they're "anxious" about the sour gas processing plant, or, in other words,
that the increased incidence of medical problems they think they're
experiencing is supposedly only in their minds. The people in the Pincher
Creek area firmly reject the suggestion that their increased medical problems
are only in their minds, however, as do scientists from around the world who
are on the record as being extremely critical of both the methodology and the
conclusions of the Provincial government financed study.)
(It's notable that coincidental with the onset of massive gas and oil
exploitation activity in the Lubicon territory during the winter of 1979-80
the Lubicon people started experiencing a significant increase in the same
medical problems as those associated with sour gas processing plants including
headaches, fatigue, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, burning eyes, skin
rashes so serious as to cause permanent scarring, respiratory problems
including asthma so severe as to cause heart failure, birth defects,
spontaneous abortions, stillbirths and cancers of all kinds. It's been
assumed that these horrendous Lubicon medical problems are related to the
massive resource exploitation activity commencing in the Lubicon territory
during the winter of 1979-80 -- since they didn't exist prior to the onset of
that massive resource exploitation activity -- but identification of a more
precise cause or causes has remained elusive. While the specific cause of
these horrendous Lubicon medical problems still isn't certain it's now clear
that the Lubicon medical profile since the onset of massive resource
exploitation activity in the traditional Lubicon territory matches almost
exactly that of people and animals living in the vicinity of sour gas
processing plants located elsewhere. And it's now also known -- as a result
of reviewing the literature regarding medical problems associated with sour
gas processing plants located elsewhere -- that existing resource exploitation
activities in the Lubicon vicinity including oil well flares, the Shell "In
Situ" Plant and the Daishowa Kraft Pulp Mill produce the same worrisome
sulphurous and other gases as sour gas processing plants.)
All of the above noted medical and environmental problems are of course
related to legally allowable, low level concentrations of sulphurous and other
gases in the atmosphere. When the concentration of hydrogen sulphide in the
atmosphere goes up -- as can happen very rapidly if a problem develops with a
sour gas processing plant and a leak occurs -- the resulting health and
environmental problems are dramatic, immediately apparent and incontestable by
even self-interested oil companies and their cronies in the Alberta Provincial
government.
At about 100 ppm people start experiencing irreversible damage to eyes, nose,
lungs and nervous system.
At 200 ppm the sense of smell is killed making it impossible to detect the
presence of hydrogen sulphide gas, or, in other words, if you stop smelling
the noxious rotten egg odour associated with hydrogen sulphide gas it might
either be gone or you might be well on your way to being a goner.
Eyes, nose, lungs and nervous system are seriously damaged after 30 minutes of
exposure to 500 ppm of hydrogen sulphide gas and death results within 4 to 8
hours.
At 1,000 ppm death occurs instantaneously -- after only one or two breaths.
Correspondence and other materials related to construction of this huge new
Unocal sour gas processing plant adjacent to the proposed Lubicon reserve are
attached. Background information is as follows:
Last October 8th the Lubicons received a letter from Unocal regarding
"Proposed Plant Expansion at Battery Site". The text of the letter said
"Unocal plans to install a 27.8 mmacfd gas processing plant and 2400
horsepower compressor on the existing battery site...(and has been)...advised
by the Energy Resources Conservation Board that the consent of the Lubicon
Lake Indian Nation must be obtained in support of the referenced plant
expansion".
The Lubicons did not provide the consent requested by Unocal because they did
not want a sour gas processing plant built adjacent to their proposed reserve.
Unocal therefore contacted the Lubicons and asked for a meeting.
The first meeting between Unocal and the Lubicons occurred on August 30, 1993.
Unocal presented some materials pertaining to the proposed sour gas processing
plant and indicated that they would be back in touch with the Lubicons when
the project "was better defined and Unocal corporate approval had been
received". The Lubicons expressed concern with construction of a sour gas
processing plant in their unceded territory and asked for complete information
including a reaction from Unocal to reports of serious health problems at the
Pincher Creek sour gas processing plant. The requested information was never
received.
The second meeting between Unocal and the Lubicons occurred on November 9th.
Unocal representatives again mentioned the proposed sour gas processing plant
but didn't respond to expressed Lubicon concerns about it saying that it was
"down the road" and not of immediate concern. Instead Unocal representatives
focused the discussion on "feeder lines" which the Lubicons understood were
related to "expansion" of an existing battery station.
"Feeder lines" were discussed again at a third meeting on December 7th.
Unocal agreed to respect Lubicon wildlife and environmental concerns with
respect to construction of those feeder lines and to consider Lubicons for any
resulting employment opportunities especially in the areas of clean-up and
restoration. The Lubicons in turn agreed not to oppose a Unocal application
to the ERCB specifically with regard to these "feeder lines". (Unocal
representatives claim that "the plant process, H2S content of the gas and
operating pressures were discussed" at the December 7th meeting "and all
safety concerns were alleviated". The Lubicons deny this however and say that
Lubicon concerns about the proposed sour gas processing plant were never
satisfactorily answered and that they were simply put off with the line that
the plant was "down the road" and not of immediate concern.)
On December 9th -- as per agreement reached during the December 7th meeting --
the Lubicons sent Unocal a letter which reads as follows:
Pursuant to your letter of October 08, 1993, regarding Unocal Canada
Management Limited's application for proposed plant expansion at the
above noted location, and subsequent meetings between representatives of
Unocal and the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation during which Unocal confirmed
acceptance of (wildlife and environmental) conditions stipulated by the
Lubicon Lake Indian Nation, the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation hereby agrees,
without prejudice to our aboriginal rights and claims and the legal
proceedings instituted by the Lubicon Nation, not to oppose the proposed
PLANT EXPANSION (underlining added).
By "proposed plant expansion" the Lubicons make clear that they understood
they were talking only about "feeder lines" for the existing battery station
and that they never intended not to oppose construction of a whole new sour
gas processing plant. Moreover, contrary to slippery subsequent claims by
both Unocal and representatives of the ERCB, there is no mention of
constructing a whole new sour gas processing plant anywhere in the December
9th Lubicon letter.
Unocal used this December 9th Lubicon letter with the ERCB as supposed
evidence that the Lubicons didn't oppose construction of the new sour gas
processing plant. The ERCB accepted this December 9th Lubicon letter agreeing
not to oppose "proposed plant expansion" as evidence that the Lubicons did not
oppose construction of a whole new sour gas processing plant.
Whether Unocal consciously used the ambiguous term "plant expansion" to
deliberately deceive the Lubicons isn't certain although in context the odds
seem pretty good that this is what happened. What is certain is that the ERCB
used the December 9th Lubicon letter agreeing not to oppose "proposed plant
expansion" to grant Unocal "approval to construct and operate the Slave gas
plant" -- another curious manoeuvre almost too neat to have been purely
accidental.
In early July representatives of Alberta Power advised the Lubicons that
Alberta Power had been asked to provide a transformer for a new Unocal sour
gas processing plant in the unceded Lubicon territory. Chief Ominayak asked
Lubicon advisor Fred Lennarson to check with the ERCB and find out if the ERCB
had given Unocal approval to proceed with construction of a new sour gas
processing plant in the unceded Lubicon territory.
Fred Lennarson checked with ERCB Gas Processing Plant Supervisor Murray
Semchuck and confirmed that the ERCB had given Unocal approval to construct a
new sour gas processing plant adjacent to the proposed Lubicon reserve. Chief
Ominayak therefore immediately wrote Mr. Semchuck straightening out any
possible past miscommunication and making Lubicon opposition to construction
of the new Unocal gas processing plant crystal clear. The Chief's letter is
dated July 8th and reads as follows:
As Fred Lennarson told you when he spoke to you by phone on July 8th the
Lubicon people never agreed not to oppose an application to the ERCB by
Unocal to construct a 27.8 mmacfd gas processing plant at 8 & 9-15-84-14
W5M. Nor will we. What we agreed not to oppose was construction of
"feeder" or "collection lines".
Unocal wrote us a letter last October 8th requesting our "consent" to
"install" such a "gas processing plant" in our unceded traditional
territory. We did not provide that consent both because we oppose
"installation" of any such plant in our unceded traditional territory and
because the Unocal letter typically failed to mention our well known
requirement that companies wishing to engage in development activities in
our unceded traditional territory must be prepared to agree to respect
Lubicon wildlife and environmental concerns and to consider Lubicons for
any resulting employment opportunities especially in the areas of clean-
up and restoration.
In subsequent meetings Unocal representatives mentioned the "gas
processing plant" but did not respond to our expressed concerns about it.
Rather they chose to focus the discussion on construction of "feeder" or
"collection" lines. They agreed to respect Lubicon wildlife and
environmental concerns and to consider Lubicons for any resulting
employment opportunities specifically WITH REGARD TO THESE "FEEDER" OR
"COLLECTION" LINES. And the Lubicon people agreed not to oppose a Unocal
application to the ERCB specifically WITH REGARD TO THESE "FEEDER" OR
"COLLECTION" LINES.
While the December 9th letter we sent to Anita Beaudin of Unocal may not
capture the nature of our agreement with Unocal representatives as
precisely as we would like that was our agreement and Unocal
representatives know it. We never agreed not to oppose an application to
the ERCB by Unocal to "install" a "gas processing plant" in our unceded
territory nor will we. We only agreed not to oppose an application to the
ERCB with regard to "feeder" or "collection" lines.
Thus while there might conceivably have been inadvertent miscommunication
between Unocal, the Lubicons and the ERCB prior to the Chief's July 8th
letter, subsequent distortion and misrepresentation of the Lubicon position by
both Unocal and the ERCB can't be dismissed so lightly. Chief Ominayak's July
8th letter regarding Lubicon opposition to the proposed Unocal sour gas
processing plant couldn't be more clear.
On July 12th Semchuck phoned Unocal Manager of Alberta Operations Bob Goldie
and advised Mr. Goldie of the Lubicon letter of opposition.
On July 13th Semchuck phoned the Lubicons and reported that a copy of the
Chief's July 8th letter was being forwarded to Unocal asking Unocal "to
comment with respect to the points in Chief Ominayak's letter". Semchuck said
that the ERCB needs "to hear the positions from both sides".
Semchuck told the Lubicons that Goldie had been "designated to respond to the
Chief's letter by the Unocal team". He said "I want (Lubicon opposition) to
be resolved through further dialogue and discussion". He said "Maybe
something has been misaligned and we can get it restored fairly quickly".
On July 14th Semchuck wrote Goldie requesting Unocal to respond to Chief
Ominayak's July 8th letter. Mr. Semchuck's letter to Mr. Goldie reads, in
part:
This will serve to confirm our 12 July 1994 telephone conversation...As
you recall, during the Gas Department's review of Application No. 931526,
Unocal was requested to provide information regarding the communication
that you carried out with Chief Ominayak and the Lubicon people regarding
your above referenced project. In your submission dated 7 December 1993
you provided a chronology of the correspondence and communication Unocal
had with the Lubicon people during a period of time from August 30th to 7
December 1993.
Based on this information as well as all the required technical and
environmental details and data which demonstrated the purpose and
necessity for the gas processing plant, the Board issued the gas plant
Board Approval No. 7411 to Unocal on 10 February 1994...Chief Ominayak
has indicated in his 8 July 1994 letter that there was information
exchanged between Unocal and the Lubicon people which emphasized the
"feeder" or "collection" lines that would be required for Application No.
931526. He also indicates the following: "In subsequent meetings Unocal
representatives mentioned the gas processing plant but did not respond to
our expressed concerns about it.
Based on the details provided in your application, the Gas Department
recognizes that Unocal and the Lubicon people have endeavoured to
communicate and discuss energy related developments and local issues.
Therefore, Unocal is hereby requested to review Chief Ominayak's 8 July
1994 letter and address the matters he has raised through a written
response to him. We request that you provide the Gas Department with a
copy of your written reply.
We understand that Unocal is prepared to proceed with (construction of)
the 9-15 gas processing project very shortly. We anticipate receiving a
copy of your letter on or before 27 July 1994.
On July 21st the Lubicons received a 38 page fax communication from Unocal
covered by a letter dated July 19th. Except for a 4 page chronology
purporting to summarize meetings at which the Lubicon people supposedly agreed
not to oppose the new sour gas processing plant the 38 page fax communication
from Unocal consists essentially of technical information unrelated to the
question of Lubicon opposition to the proposed new sour gas processing plant.
The cover letter to the 38 page fax was signed for Unocal Manager of Alberta
Operations Bob Goldie by a man named Gord Goodman and reads:
Unocal is unclear on the concerns you expressed in your July 08, 1994
letter to Mr. Murray Semchuck of the ERCB.
We believe that during the approval process our discussions and meetings
with you and your representatives stressed open and honest communication.
This is indicated in notes of meetings involving Unocal and the Lubicon
Band representatives, handouts and correspondence. For your reference we
have attached copies of these documents together with your (December 9th)
letter approving the plant expansion. Also attached are other
requirements regarding EPEA and ERCB approval.
For our continued good working relationship, continued good communication
is fundamental. If you would elaborate on your concerns for us, we would
certainly endeavour to address them.
As Unocal employees, we pride ourselves in maintaining high ethical
standards, maintaining a safe and healthful workplace for employees and
neighbours in the community, protecting the environment and complying
with all regulations while conducting our business activities. You will
find the Unocal team working on this area equal to the task.
We would be pleased to review your concerns and meet to discuss them.
On July 27th the first reports of construction at the site of the proposed
sour gas processing plant at Lubicon Lake were received -- well after both
Unocal and the ERCB had been clearly and unequivocally notified of Lubicon
opposition. Thus while there might conceivably have been a misunderstanding
about Lubicon opposition to the Unocal sour gas processing plant the previous
December, it is not possible for either Unocal or the ERCB to claim
misunderstanding at the point that Unocal actually proceeded with crash plant
construction at the end of July.
On August 7th, following the report that Unocal had commenced construction of
its sour gas processing plant, Chief Ominayak asked Fred Lennarson to phone
Murray Semchuck and check the status of the proposed sour gas processing
plant. Fred Lennarson reached Mr. Semchuck the following morning.
Semchuck told Fred Lennarson that the ERCB had sent Unocal a letter on July
14th asking for a reaction to the concerns expressed in Chief Ominayak's July
8th letter. Semchuck said that Unocal had replied to the Lubicons in writing
on July 21st.
Fred Lennarson told Semchuck that Unocal's July 21st package of materials
proved nothing and settled nothing. Lennarson said that Unocal had only
provided a pile of paper largely irrelevant to the issue of Lubicon opposition
and were simply continuing to assert that the Lubicons had agreed not to
oppose the sour gas processing plant while the Lubicons remain adamant that
they never agreed not to oppose.
Semchuck said that the July 21st Unocal cover letter indicates that Unocal
would be pleased to meet with the Lubicons and discuss any Lubicon concerns.
He said that he expected Unocal to follow-up and request a meeting with the
Lubicons. He asked if Unocal had followed-up and requested a meeting.
Lennarson told Semchuck that Unocal had not requested a meeting but had
instead followed-up by starting construction at the site of the proposed sour
gas processing plant.
Semchuck denied knowledge of construction at the site but said that he would
immediately check with Bob Goldie and find out about it. He asked Lennarson
what the Lubicons wanted the ERCB to do.
Lennarson told Semchuck that the ERCB should convene the public hearing
provided in ERCB enabling legislation for persons whose rights are directly
and adversely affected by a proposed energy facility. In the meantime,
Lennarson said, the Lubicons are preparing to stop the plant from being put
into operation by any means necessary.
Semchuck asked for a letter from the Lubicons indicating that they'd reviewed
the July 21st Unocal materials, stating that they still oppose construction of
Unocal's proposed sour gas processing plant and spelling out their concerns
with plant design, the environment or human health.
Lennarson told Semchuck that he doubted the Lubicons would be prepared to
become involved in a technical debate intended to produce supposed technical
remedies to specific technical problems. He said that the Lubicons are well
aware of the technical debate raging elsewhere with one side claiming one
thing and the other side claiming something else. In the end, he said,
whether one side or the other is factually correct cannot definitively be
decided through a debate of conflicting technical information. He said one
simply has to make a judgment as to whether one wants to have a sour gas
processing plant built in their back yard and it is the judgment of the
Lubicon people that they don't want to take a chance with the health of their
children.
Semchuck asked whether the Lubicon people would be prepared to consider an
alternative site for the proposed sour gas processing plant.
Lennarson told Semchuck that he didn't know whether the Lubicons would be
prepared to consider an alternative site -- only that the Lubicons are not
prepared to allow construction of a sour gas processing plant in their back
yard. He said that he couldn't understand what it was about the Lubicon
position which Unocal and the ERCB were having so much trouble comprehending.
He told Semchuck that the Lubicons had made very clear that they simply didn't
want the plant in their area period.
Semchuck asked if the Chief would be prepared to send the ERCB a letter
indicating simply that the Lubicons oppose construction of the proposed sour
gas processing plant at the proposed site due to concerns over human health.
Lennarson said that the Lubicons might be prepared to send a letter indicating
that they opposed construction of the proposed sour gas processing plant at
the proposed site for reasons of the threat it poses to the environment and
human health. However, he said, the Lubicons are also concerned about the
threat to wildlife and the environment generally and a letter indicating
opposition to the proposed sour gas processing plant at the proposed site
should not be taken to mean that the Lubicons are prepared to go along with an
alternative site in their traditional territory.
Lennarson reported his August 8th phone conversation with Semchuck to Chief
Ominayak who immediately faxed Semchuck the following letter:
Pursuant to your phone conversation with Fred Lennarson earlier today
this letter is to formally advise the ERCB that the Lubicon people have
reviewed the package of materials on the proposed Unocal sour gas plant
faxed to us by (Unocal) on July 21st. All these materials show is that
we continue to disagree about what was and what was not agreed with
regard to Lubicon opposition to the proposed Unocal sour gas plant.
Since this controversy began we have also had the opportunity to review
materials from other places regarding the effect of sour gas plants on
wildlife, the environment and human health. While these materials are not
definitive it is clear that sour gas plants may have very serious effects
on wildlife, the environment and human health and the Lubicon people are
not prepared to take a chance with the health and well-being of our
children.
It is therefore our intention to continue to oppose construction of the
proposed Unocal sour gas plant in our traditional territory. In this
regard we have been in communication with our friends and allies around
the world and have been assured of their support should Unocal attempt to
proceed with construction of this proposed sour gas plant in our
traditional territory.
On August 18th Alberta Power wrote Chief Ominayak indicating that Alberta
Power had applied to the ERCB for approval to construct a new transmission
substation to provide power to the proposed Unocal sour gas processing plant
and asking the Lubicons to "Please advise the ERCB in writing if you have any
concerns or objections regarding the applied-for project". Having previously
been in verbal contact with the Lubicons Alberta Power already knew the
Lubicon reaction.
On August 19th Chief Ominayak wrote the ERCB as follows:
As we have already advised representatives of Alberta Power Limited the
Lubicon Lake Indian Nation strongly opposes Application No. 940704
requesting authority to construct an electric power substation to provide
power to the proposed Unocal sour gas plant which we also strongly
oppose.
For your information our strong opposition to the proposed Unocal sour
gas plant is formally recorded in the attached letter sent to Mr. Murray
Semchuck on August 08, 1994.
On August 19th Bob Goldie sent Chief Ominayak a fax communication proposing to
meet at the site of the proposed sour gas processing plant on August 24th, to
take the Lubicons on a tour of the facility, to serve the Lubicons lunch and
to then engage in "a round table discussion of the points you made to the
ERCB". (Chief Ominayak was participating in a week-long international Taiga
Rescue Network Conference on protection of the boreal forest and didn't see
Mr. Goldie's fax until several days later.)
On August 23rd Chief Ominayak received a letter from the ERCB acknowledging
receipt of his August 19th letter opposing the Alberta Power application to
construct an electric power substation to provide power to the proposed Unocal
sour gas processing plant. The letter reads "The ERCB will advise you, in due
course, of its consideration of the (Alberta Power) application".
On August 25th Unocal President Fritz Perschon told reporters that the first
he'd heard about Lubicon objection to the Unocal sour gas processing plant was
a week earlier -- the week of August 15th -- when he supposedly learned from
the ERCB that the Lubicons had filed an objection. Previously, he said, it
was his understanding that the Lubicons had agreed to the project. (Either
Mr. Perschon is not kept informed about major projects being undertaken by the
company of which he's president or he's less than truthful in his public
pronouncements. Frankly it's hard to imagine that nobody told Mr. Perschon of
formal Lubicon opposition to the $10 million dollar plant in fact filed with
the ERCB nearly two months earlier on July 8th -- casting into doubt the
veracity of other controversial claims made by Mr. Perschon and his Unocal
subordinates.)
Also on August 25th Bob Goldie sent Chief Ominayak a second fax reading as
follows:
Unocal is pleased to respond to your letter of August 08, 1994 to Murray
Semchuck of the Energy Resources Conservation Board. It is the desire of
Unocal Canada to continue free and open discussion regarding the Slave
Shallow Gas Processing Plant in order to ensure a good level of
understanding by all concerned parties.
In order to further foster open communication, Unocal would like to
propose that its Slave Shallow Gas Team meet with the Lubicon Lake Indian
Nation representatives at their council hall on Tuesday, August 30, 1994
at 1:30 PM or a time more convenient for you. We offer, at this meeting,
an opportunity to discuss this project with the Manager of the Asset
Team, the Technical Representatives of Unocal and as well a medical
doctor who can discuss health issues that have been raised by the Lubicon
people.
We hope that this group will be satisfactory to discuss the concerns that
you have expressed. If you have other issues that you would like to
discuss or would prefer that other individuals attended to provide you
with more detailed information, please advise.
I will follow this letter with a phone call to address any arrangements
you may wish to make for this meeting.
Chief Ominayak was still participating in the week-long international Taiga
Rescue Network Conference when Mr. Goldie's second fax arrived and would not
return to his office until the following Monday, August 29th.
(Continued in Part 2)