Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Bromley on June 2, 2015, regarding scientific conclusions on climate change.
ITI is committed to environmentally responsible development of NWT natural resources to grow our economy for the benefit and prosperity of all NWT residents.
Every application to withdraw water in the NWT, including for hydraulic fracturing, is review on a case-by-case basis. Consideration will be given to the volume of available source water in the area as well as any cumulative impacts from other withdrawals in the region. Any water licence will set a limit on the amount of freshwater that can be withdrawn by source and used for the operation. Storage of contaminated water through underground disposal is one available option that would need to be approved.
Other options include recycling of wastewater and fracturing fluid flow-back, or disposal at an approved facility in Alberta or British Columbia as no such facility exists in the NWT. More information on specific cases of water usage and waste management related to hydraulic fracturing can be found on the Sahtu Land and Water Board public registry.
According to the application for Water Licence S14L1-003, submitted to the Sahtu Land and Water Board for the 2014-2019 EL470 Multi-Well Exploration Program, ConocoPhillips estimated a maximum annual water withdrawal volume of 348,490 cubic metres, or approximately 139 Olympic-size pools, as part of the water licence consolidation.
The National Oil Shale Association, United States, estimates that mean water consumption for shale oil production is 1.7 barrels of water per barrel of oil production. At oil production scenarios of 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 barrels per day, the amount of water required annually would be approximately 740,000, 1.48 million, and 3.70 million cubic metres, respectively.
Federal delegation of authority for water management and approval of type “A” water licences has been transferred from the federal Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada to the Government of the Northwest Territories, Minister of ENR, while type “B” water licences are issued directly by land and water boards.
As part of the department’s commitment to environmentally sustainable and responsible development, I will rely on the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources and the expertise of ENR’s waters resources division for any detailed assessment of water quality. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
