N.L. seeking more control over offshore oil rules, as Bill C-69 moves through Ottawa

The Newfoundland and Labradorgovernment is looking to ensure looming environmentalregulationson oil and gas development don't hinder provincial offshore income, and is requesting more control over who gets a say in which drilling projects get approved.

The bill in question is C-69, an environmental assessment proposal that couldusher in new regulations for how projects such as pipelines or offshoreexploration, one of the province's currentcash cows are given the green light.

In the House of Assembly on Thursday, Natural Resources MinisterSiobhanCoadysaid she'sin talks with the federal environment minister to ensure the province, not Ottawa, holds the reins over drilling in its offshore.

Coadysaid recent developmentshad giventhe province a louder voice at the bargainingtable when it comes to maximizing its offshore income, and the provincial government doesn't want to lose what it's framing as its recent victories.

For instance,Coadysaid,energy companies were recently granted the freedom to huntfor new wells without waiting for a new environmental assessment each time a process that sometimes took years.

"This was a key issue for us,"Coadysaid, suggesting that ithampered the province's global competitiveness."Up to most recently, it would take up to 36 months, three years, to do a 30- to 60-day well for exploration.Think about that."

She explained the provincial government wants to ensure the bill allows for a general environmental assessment thatcovers the entire offshore, essentially allowing an investor to dig an exploratory well without going through a lengthy approval process.

"We still want to make sure that'ssolidifiedand firmwithinthelegislation," Coady said, adding that she has also requested amendmentsto the bill that would further augment the province's power to grant drilling projects the go-ahead.

More room for C-NLOPB requested

Coady told reporters the province specifically wants more control over who sits on an approval panel for a project.

In her ongoing letters to federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, Coady said, she asked for the majority of panel members to be from the province's offshore regulator, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB).

Recent amendments by the Senate "inadvertently" left provincial offshore boards out of the picture, Coadysaid.

C-NLOPB members are the subject experts,she said, and her recent letter to McKennaasked that the province have a say in how members of assessment panels are appointed.

"We want to make sure that exploration wells are now being able to be approved by the Canada-Newfoundland Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board rather than having to go to the panel."

The C-NLOPBcame under heavy scrutiny for its hands-off approach with private offshore operators last fall, when a spill from aflowlineto theSeaRoseFPSO, controlled by Husky Energy, dumped 250,000 litres of crude into the ocean.

Joint management

Coadynoted that the province is able to make these requests under the Atlantic Accord, which affords it the right to joint management over its offshore.

She stressed that the province is working with their federal counterparts to ensure changes to the assessment legislation won't negatively affect how the offshore industry does business.

Bill C-69 will head to the Senate for final approval before it can becomelaw.

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