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On Friday, May 30, Environment Minister David Heurtel and Natural Resources Minister Pierre Arcand launched a broad-based action plan for development in Quebec's oil and gas industry.
The plan includes:
- a study of the Anticosti Island proposal
- a review by Quebec's environmental protection agency, the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE), of plans for an oil port in Cacouna
The action plan was generally well received by both environmental groups and municipalities, which were represented by the Fédération québécoise des municipalités.
In response to the worry that the plan may reopen the door to shale gas development in the St. Lawrence Lowlands region, Minister Arcand said that there is no social acceptance in Quebec for shale gas development at this time.
The plan provides for the establishment of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) on the entire hydrocarbon sector, but in small steps. A SEA is a comprehensive study of different aspects of an issue: technical, environmental, social and economic. The Charest Liberals did a SEA on shale gas.
It will take several years to carry out the required studies and consultations, and to establish the necessary regulatory framework. All operations will be on hold until then.
There are some downsides to the plan:
- It is not yet clear whether the BAPE, as the review by the province's environmental agency is called, will address the Cacouna port or the TransCanada Energy East pipeline project through Southern Quebec.
- The government wants to compare the benefits of different ways of transporting hydrocarbons, but without questioning the risk of tripling the amount of heavy crude brought through the province, as would happen if the two pipeline projects currently on the table go through.
In short, this is a very relevant plan that deserves some modifications and additions.
This article by Steven Guilbeault, senior director of Equiterre, originally appeared in French in the Métro newspaper.
