Carbon capture project leaking into their land, couple says

As many have predicted, it seems that carbon capture isn't the panacea many had hoped:

First there were the strange blooms of algae on water that had pooled in a gravel pit near Jane and Cameron Kerr’s house. Then there were the dead animals – a cat, an African goat, a rabbit, a duck, a half-dozen blackbirds. Then there were the night-time blowouts, which sounded like cannons and left gashes in the side of the pit.

But what started as a series of worrisome problems on a rural Saskatchewan property has now raised serious questions about the safety of carbon sequestration and storage, a technology that has drawn billions in spending from governments and industry, which have promoted it as a salve to Canada’s growth in greenhouse-gas emissions.

Before the blowouts made them nervous enough to leave home, the Kerrs lived on a farm near Weyburn, which is home to a major project that involves taking captured carbon dioxide and injecting it into the ground. It pumps 6,000 tonnes of the substance underground ever day; since 2000, it has sequestered more than 16 million tonnes, all of it 1.4 kilometres below the surface.

From the Globe. This is unfortunate, though not particularly surprising. Happily, Saskatchewan is looking at alternatives, notably buying electricity from Manitoba. The western route for Bipole III doesn't look so bad now, does it?

Manitobans split on Hydro line

Looks like it may not be the killer issue the Tories hoped:

There is no consensus among Manitobans where Hydro should build its new transmission line.

Global News' exclusive Ipsos Reid poll shows 31% say it should go on the west side, 39% feel the eastern route is better while 30% have no opinion.

From Global. Sure, more people oppose the selected route than support, but not by a huge margin, and the number of "no opinion" responses suggests that it's not going to be a hot issue. That doesn't mean the NDP doesn't have to worry (there have been enough negative polls to make one wonder) but it does mean that the Bipole isn't likely to be the deciding factor in next fall's election.

The west side route suddenly makes a lot more sense

The controversy over the routing of Bipole III is one of the very few issues where the editorialists at the Free Press have been able to score legitimate points against the government. The government has good reasons for choosing the west side route, namely the desire to limit development on the relatively pristine east side, but the contrary view, namely that the extra cost (which is not insignificant) as well as the line losses will outweigh the benefits, is certainly defensible. However, the balance may have shifted significantly in the government's favour with this announcement (h/t Endless Spin Cycle):

Manitoba and Saskatchewan will look into improving the capacity of electric power transmission between the two provinces.

The decision is one of several to come out of a first-ever joint meeting of the two provincial cabinets today in Yorkton, Sask.

Of course, this isn't a fait accompli, but the western route is quite favourable for sending power to the west, and I've often wondered why they haven't brought this up before now. Perhaps they wanted to make sure they had something resembling a deal first. In any case, if this goes through it'll mean that Saskatchewan will burn less coal than before. Can't complain about that.

Or maybe not...

A lot seems to have happened since yesterday's post. Andrew Swan's website now has this:

Reports in the Winnipeg Free Press today suggest that The Pas MLA Frank Whitehead and AMC Chief Ron Evans endorsed NDP leadership candidate Andrew Swan yesterday based in part on a promise to reopen the negotiations on the location of the Bipole lll transmission line. According to all three men, this suggestion is baseless.

“The only commitment made by Andrew was an agreement that he would meet with as many First Nations as possible, including all First Nations on the east-side of Lake Winnipeg, during his first year as Premier,” Whitehead said. “As I said at the announcement yesterday, the areas of concern for aboriginal people are economic development and education and training and Andrew underlined strongly that he shares those concerns and will work with us.”

“There was no quid pro quo for our endorsement as it pertains to Bipole III. We chose Andrew because we believe he is the best leader for today and tomorrow.” said Whitehead.”Any suggestion otherwise is incorrect.”

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Ron Evans stated categorically that at no time did he suggest to others that there was a deal on the table to re-visit the location of Bipole III.

“I want to be crystal clear on the Bipole lll issue because I know how important it is to Manitoba’s future, said Swan. “After extensive consultation with stakeholders, the decision on the location of Bipole lll was made. I believed the decision was the right one then, and I believe it is the right one today. I look forward to hearing all ideas about how we can create a better future in all regions of Manitoba, and I am willing to work with all communities to see that happen.”

All pretty benign actually; it seems he wants simply to see what the east side communities think of the process. Which makes me wonder why the Free Press would be so sloppy. Perhaps they want to revisit the issue; that would explain why they dug up this guy at the same time as yesterday's apparently misleading story. He's a fellow with Manitoba Hydro who thinks the west side route is badly misguided. Now I can't comment on the correctness of his argument, but surely he was around when the west side route first was discussed, and my guess is that the concerns he raises have been addressed already. But the paper needs to stir the pot... In any case, so far this morning neither the Free Press nor the Sun seems to have published Swan's clarification.

Swan revisits east-side hydro debate

Whoa... didn't see this coming:

A controversial plan to build a $2-billion hydro transmission line down the west side of the province might not be totally carved in stone thanks to political jockeying in the race to replace Premier Gary Doer.

NDP leadership hopeful Andrew Swan said Friday he would visit the 16 First Nations communities on the east side of the province in his first year as premier to hear what they think of the new power line -- a line many say if built down the east side of Lake Winnipeg will open up a largely forgotten part of the province.

From the Winnipeg Free Press. To be fair, Swan is far from committed to changing the existing plan; he acknowledges that most of the east side communities don't want the Bipole. And given that Newfoundland has backed down on their plans to put a power line through Gros Morne National Park owing to the effect this might have on its World Heritage Site status, I suspect that nothing will come of this. The main effect here is to bring the controversy back into the public sphere, and give Hugh McFadyen the opportunity to talk about it again.

Dan Lett discusses some of the issues involved here. First Nations communities are far from unanimous on the Bipole, and Evans and Whitehead seem to want the east side route to be reconsidered. Hmm.