Fingers are crossed

Helmut Glesbrecht
MLA
joins
drill

call

THE PUSH to overturn the
moratorium on north coast
offshore oil and gas explora-
lion is getting cautious sup-
port from Skeena NDP
MLA Helmut Giesbrecht.

*T think it’s time for a dic-
sussion or some review of
the moratorium,’ Gies-
brecht said. ‘“Twenty years
have passed and maybe we
should see whether those
feclings are still as strong,”’

North Coast MLA Dan
Miller has been the most vo-
cal politician pushing to
open up the Queen Charlotte
basin to oil and gas drilling.

But Giesbrecht did note
many other government
members will be strongly
apposed to the idea on en-
vironmental grounds.

While there is economic
value to the idea, he stressed
it is not a short-term fix to
put people to work immedi-
ately.

“Some people are seizing
on it as a way of getting us
out of the economic chal-
lenges we face,’’ Giesbrecht
said. ‘This is not a silver
bullet. This is looking way
down the road.’

for normal

IDEAL TEMPERATURES arc creating the
best possible scenarios for spring run-off.

Len Barak, an environment ministry
water management technician in Smithers,
said river Qooding isn’ta concern — yet.

“It’s cool but there’s still enough heat to
gel rid of low elevation melt,” he said.
“You need +20 to create alarming situa-
tions,”’

If hot weather strikes, and the snowpack
melts quickly, flooding. ou occur since
snowpack levels in Tergade are significantly
above normal, =~

“The numbers ate big enough that have
concern [for Nocding},”’ Barak said.

Ata measuring station at the Terrace and
Kilimat Airport, the snowpack’s water
equivalent (what snow would render it
terms of water during melt) is four times
greater than normal,

The snowpack in the area normally
renders an average about 100 millimetres of
water, but earlier this month readings
Showed a water equivalent of about 400
millimetres,

Ata measuring station at Wedeene, mid-
way between Terrace and Kilimat, the

run-off

snowpack contains more than twice the
water volume than normal. The. water
equivalent currently reads 733 mm, com-
pared to an average of about 350 mm.

According to snowpack fevels, potential
for flooding is there, Barak said,

‘Weather is the next major factor.’’

Should the freezing level rise quickly and
the above average snowpack levels melt
rapidly, like they did in 1997, flooding will
occur, he said.

For this reason, Barak is closely moniitor-
ing weather reports. ‘‘Nothing is happening
just yet, it’s been fairly cool,” he said.

“‘But I’ve always said flood plain dwel-

lers have 1o be aware four times a year: in .

ice jams in winter, spring break-up, sum~-
mer melt and fall rain.”

Barak’s most concemed with the
twibutaries feeding the Skecna west and
south of Terrace. The Skeena itself isn’t ex-
pected to flood. since il’s predominately fed
from rivers further intand that dida’t get the
heavy snowfalls that Terrace did.

He said local diking authorilies are cur-
rently inspecting dikes in Kitimat, New
Remo and on the Copper River,

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