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****PRESS RELEASE - for immediate release 9 January = 2000********************* SAVE OUR SEAS COALITION WANTS PETROLEUM BOARD INVESTIGATED SOS, a grassroots coalition trying to stop petroleum exploration along = Cape Breton's Cabot Trail shoreline and in lucrative inshore fishing = grounds in the Southern Gulf wants the Canada Nova Scotia Offshore = Petroleum Board's power as a regulatory authority to be investigated. Coalition member Mary Gorman says that recent events prove that "the = CNSOPB is in a conflict of interest and is incapable of functioning = competently as a neutral regulatory authority". Responding to a recent = leak of the Sable gas pipeline and media reports that the CNSOPB has no = inspectors on hand at site operations and relies solely on the petroleum = industry to report spills, irregularities, accidents or mishaps, Gorman = says there is now enough evidence to seriously question the credibility = of the CNSOPB which receives over half a million dollars of its annual = budget from the Sable gas project. "If you look at their track record, it is our belief that the CNSOPB is = functioning as a promotional agency for the petroleum industry, not as a = neutral regulatory authority", says coalition member Percy Hayne. "Back = in the fall, it was over a week before the public was informed of a = break in the underwater pipeline; workers' safety has been seriously = questioned subsequent to a recent death of a worker and now these recent = leaks and blockages without inspectors on hand prove that the Petroleum = Board's process favors the petroleum industry at the expense of not only = public safety but in our case, the safety of our marine environment." Save Our Seas has been concerned and complained to elected officials for = several months about the CNSOPB's operating mandate and process that = allows exploration bids to be approved before identifying spawning, = nursery or other sensitive areas first and before consulting with local = communities that rely on the inshore fishery and tourism as a renewable = source of income. "Talking to concerned citizens AFTER approval has been = given is not consultation," says coalition member Mary Goodwin of Mabou = .=20 Goodwin says that local politicians "keep trying to hide behind the so = called independent authority of the Petroleum Board. There are serious = issues to be addressed and we're tired of the buck being passed at the = expense of safety and of our coastal communities," she said. Coalition member Allister Marshall of Chapel Island Band says that the = SOS Coalition is having a petition tabled as soon as parliament resumes = in February and that the petition asks parliament to revoke the Parcel 1 = petroleum exploration permit and to investigate the legislative powers = of the CNSOPB. "Hopefully, when our petition is tabled in the House of = Commons, elected officials will then have to start assuming = responsibility and accountability for the actions of this appointed, = unelected board of four individuals, " says Mr. Marshall. In early = December, the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs, = representing Mi'kmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy Chiefs from Nova = Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland unanimously = passed a motion to stop petroleum exploration in sensitive areas along = the Cabot Trail shoreline (NS98-2Parcel 1).=20 For further information, contact: Mary Gorman Allister Marshall (902)926-2128 (902)535-2426 Percy Hayne Mary Goodwin (902)926-2229 (902)945-2205 =20 PEI contact: Dr Irene Novaczek RR #4 Breadalbane PEI Canada C0A 1E0 Ph: 902 964-2781 inova@isn.net -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- The preceding message was posted on the Sustainable Maritimes mailing list (sust-mar). http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/lists/sust-mar -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Sponsors: Chebucto Community Net http://www.chebucto.ns.ca Sierra Club - Chebucto Group http://www.sierraclub.ca Volunteer listowner: Paul Falvo sust-mar-owner@chebucto.ns.ca
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