Lubicon Lake Indian Nation Little Buffalo Lake, Alberta Phone: 403-629-3945 Fax: 403-629-3939 Mailing address: 3536 - 106 Street Edmonton, Alberta T6J 1A4 Phone: 403-436-5652 Fax: 403-437-0719 September 28, 1994 Attachments to the following mail-out are quoted extensively in the narrative and are 139 pages long. The cost of including them in a general mail-out is therefore very high and of questionable value for most people. Consequently the attachments are not included but are available upon request. A list of attachments available upon request is as follows: 1.) October 08, 1993 letter from Unocal to the Lubicons; 2.) December 09, 1993 letter from the Lubicons to Unocal; 3.) July 08, 1994, letter from the Lubicons to the ERCB; 4.) July 14, 1994 letter from the ERCB to Unocal; 5.) July 19, 1994 letter with attachments from Unocal to the Lubicons; 6.) August 08, 1994 letter from the Lubicons to the ERCB; 7.) August 18, 1994 letter with attachments pertaining to the Alberta Power application from the ERCB to the Lubicons; 8.) August 19, 1994, letter from the Lubicons to the ERCB; 9.) August 19, 1994 letter from Unocal to the Lubicons; 10.) August 23, 1994, letter from the ERCB to the Lubicons; 11.) August 25, 1994, letter from Unocal to the Lubicons; 12.) August 25, 1994, Edmonton Journal article on discussion of the Lubicon situation by the Taiga Rescue Network conference; 13.) August 26, 1994, Edmonton Journal article on Lubicon opposition to the Unocal sour gas processing plant; 14.) August 26, 1994 letter from Unocal to the ERCB; 15.) August 28, 1994, Taiga Rescue Network Resolution on the Lubicons; 16.) August 29, 1994 letter from the ERCB to the Lubicons; 17.) August 29, 1994 letter from the ERCB to Unocal; 18.) August 31, 1994 letter from Unocal to the Lubicons; 19.) September 01, 1994 letter with attachments from Unocal to the Lubicons; 20.) September 07, 1994 letter from Friends of the Lubicon (Toronto) to Unocal; 21.) September 09, 1994 letter from Unocal to Friends of the Lubicon (Toronto); 22.) September 09, 1994 Greenpeace memo on impacts of sour gas development; 23.) September 19, 1994 letter from the Lubicons to the ERCB; 24.) September 20, 1994 letter from the ERCB to Fred Lennarson; 25.) September 20, 1994 letter from Fred Lennarson to the ERCB; 26.) September 23, 1994 letter from Friends of the Lubicon (Toronto) to Unocal; 27.) September 27, 1994 letter from Unocal to the Lubicons; 28.) September 27, 1994 letter from the Lubicons to Unocal; 29.) September 28, 1994 Edmonton Journal article on high natural gas prices and the growing U.S. natural gas market entitled "Oilpatch rides crest of mini-boom". * * * * * * * * * (Originally underlined parts have been converted to capital letters by myself. R.L.) Lubicon Lake Indian Nation Little Buffalo Lake, Alberta Phone: 403-629-3945 Fax: 403-629-3939 Mailing address: 3536 - 106 Street Edmonton, Alberta T6J 1A4 Phone: 403-436-5652 Fax: 403-437-0719 September 28, 1994 Facing a Federal Indian Affairs Minister who is essentially taking the position that the Lubicon people must cede their aboriginal rights in order to talk about a settlement of those rights, and Provincial officials who are actively seeking to undermine the hard won Grimshaw (reserve land) Accord on which hope for a negotiated settlement of Lubicon land rights hinges, the Lubicon people are now also facing the spectre of a new $10 million sour gas (hydrogen sulphide) processing plant which has been hurriedly constructed literally a stone's throw away from the proposed Lubicon reserve. Of course nobody in their right mind would build a sour gas processing plant next to a human community or vice versa. The Lubicon people have no place else to be but such a consideration has never been of concern to either the multi-national resource exploitation companies or their cronies in the Alberta Provincial government. In fact given the history of the Lubicon struggle it's certainly not inconceivable that current Provincial government efforts to break the Grimshaw Accord are directly related to apparently significant sour gas reserves located in the area agreed at Grimshaw combined with currently high natural gas prices and a growing U.S. natural gas market. The new sour gas processing plant in the Lubicon territory has been built by Unocal Canada Management Limited -- the Canadian affiliate of Union Oil of California. It is a 27.8 mmacfd sour gas processing plant with a 2400 horsepower compressor which knowledgable sources describe as "huge". It was approved by the relevant Provincial regulatory agency -- the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) -- based on inaccurate information and following suspect procedures. While sour gas processing plants are still fiercely defended by self- interested oil companies and their cronies in the Alberta Provincial government as a perfectly safe and sane way to make bushel baskets of money, there is in fact considerable evidence and growing concern that they are neither safe nor sane. Those concerns include: 1.) ground water contamination from waste ponds which rendered half of the wells on the Stoney Indian Reserve at Morley unusable and which would be particularly worrisome for the Lubicons given the high water table and other potable water problems in the Lubicon area. (Historically the Lubicons have obtained their drinking water from creeks, lakes, rainwater and from melting snow -- all of which are now already problematic as a result of contamination from existing gas and oil exploitation activity); 2.) possible leaks of lethal hydrogen sulphide gas which can kill literally within seconds; 3.) a variety of significant health and environmental problems which result from chronic exposure to the low levels of sulphurous and other gases emitted by sour gas processing plants under the best of conditions; 4.) the contribution which the new sour gas processing plant will make to the total cumulative concentration of sulphurous and other gases already in the atmosphere from multiple sources of the type known to exist in the Lubicon territory such as oil well flares, the Shell "In Situ" Oil Sands Recovery Plant and the Daishowa Kraft Pulp Mill. (In supposedly assessing the potential health and environmental impact of a new sour gas processing plant the focus is always on the amount of sulphurous and other gases which will be generated by that new plant -- not on the total, typically unknown concentration of sulphurous and other gases already in the atmosphere from multiple sources PLUS that which will be contributed by a new facility. The serious health and environmental problems associated with sour gas processing plants are of course caused by the TOTAL amount of sulphurous and other gases in the atmosphere -- not by only that part of the total concentration contributed by some specific new facility.) The occupational health standard in Alberta is 10 parts of hydrogen sulphide per million parts of atmosphere over an 8 hour period at the plant site. That standard is based on healthy adults working at the plant site over a normal 8 hour working day. However no consideration is given to the cumulative effect of multiple sources or to the affect of this level of exposure upon young people, old people or people with respiratory and other health problems. In addition chronic levels of exposure as low as one part per million (ppm) are known to cause significant health problems similar to asthma in laboratory rats and brain damage in fetal rats adversely affecting such key cerebral functions as learning behaviour, fine motor control and memory. Laboratory rats are not the only form of life known to be adversely affected by chronic low level exposure to the sulphurous and other gases associated with sour gas processing plants. Vegetation is also known to be adversely affected. Hay, grass and trees growing 6 km. away from a Norcen sour gas processing plant east of St. Albert -- which is about 1/18th the size of the huge new Unocal plant and has a 40% taller flare stack equipped with supposedly effective sulphur removing technology -- are reportedly producing "weird looking growth abnormalities" and previously healthy trees are dying. (The death of whole forests due to the related phenomenon of acid rain is of course a matter of well documented international concern.) Large domestic farm animals similar to the moose upon which the Lubicons have historically depended for food are known to be adversely affected by sour gas processing plants as well. Eight cattle from a cattle herd located 6 kms. away from the much smaller Norcen plant east of St. Albert died in the first two weeks of plant operation and several others developed severe health problems. In the next three years the cattle in that same cattle herd experienced increased respiratory problems, problems with an eye condition called "red eye", breeding problems, abnormal twinning, birth defects, spontaneous abortions, stillborn calves and the size of the herd dropped by a third from 350 to 250. (Not surprisingly Norcen denies that their plant has anything to do with these problems but the fact remains that the problems didn't exist until the plant was built.) Similarly worrisome is evidence of adverse affects upon cattle in the area around another gas processing plant owned by Shell at Caroline. Cattle 20 kms. away from the Shell sour gas processing plant at Caroline are reportedly experiencing "severe depression of their immune systems". According to one source "their immune systems are literally being wiped out". A veterinarian toxicologist working for the Alberta Environmental Centre says that the damage to the immune system of cattle is particularly notable in young animals. What adversely affects plants and animals of course can't be good for people either. People living 25 kms. away from another Shell sour gas processing plant at Pincher Creek report headaches, fatigue, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, burning eyes, skin rashes, birth defects, cancer and a variety of problems with nose, sinus and respiratory system including asthma. (A $3.7 million dollar study financed by the Alberta Provincial government concluded that the people in the area of the Pincher Creek sour gas processing plant report more health problems than people living elsewhere simply because they're "anxious" about the sour gas processing plant, or, in other words, that the increased incidence of medical problems they think they're experiencing is supposedly only in their minds. The people in the Pincher Creek area firmly reject the suggestion that their increased medical problems are only in their minds, however, as do scientists from around the world who are on the record as being extremely critical of both the methodology and the conclusions of the Provincial government financed study.) (It's notable that coincidental with the onset of massive gas and oil exploitation activity in the Lubicon territory during the winter of 1979-80 the Lubicon people started experiencing a significant increase in the same medical problems as those associated with sour gas processing plants including headaches, fatigue, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, burning eyes, skin rashes so serious as to cause permanent scarring, respiratory problems including asthma so severe as to cause heart failure, birth defects, spontaneous abortions, stillbirths and cancers of all kinds. It's been assumed that these horrendous Lubicon medical problems are related to the massive resource exploitation activity commencing in the Lubicon territory during the winter of 1979-80 -- since they didn't exist prior to the onset of that massive resource exploitation activity -- but identification of a more precise cause or causes has remained elusive. While the specific cause of these horrendous Lubicon medical problems still isn't certain it's now clear that the Lubicon medical profile since the onset of massive resource exploitation activity in the traditional Lubicon territory matches almost exactly that of people and animals living in the vicinity of sour gas processing plants located elsewhere. And it's now also known -- as a result of reviewing the literature regarding medical problems associated with sour gas processing plants located elsewhere -- that existing resource exploitation activities in the Lubicon vicinity including oil well flares, the Shell "In Situ" Plant and the Daishowa Kraft Pulp Mill produce the same worrisome sulphurous and other gases as sour gas processing plants.) All of the above noted medical and environmental problems are of course related to legally allowable, low level concentrations of sulphurous and other gases in the atmosphere. When the concentration of hydrogen sulphide in the atmosphere goes up -- as can happen very rapidly if a problem develops with a sour gas processing plant and a leak occurs -- the resulting health and environmental problems are dramatic, immediately apparent and incontestable by even self-interested oil companies and their cronies in the Alberta Provincial government. At about 100 ppm people start experiencing irreversible damage to eyes, nose, lungs and nervous system. At 200 ppm the sense of smell is killed making it impossible to detect the presence of hydrogen sulphide gas, or, in other words, if you stop smelling the noxious rotten egg odour associated with hydrogen sulphide gas it might either be gone or you might be well on your way to being a goner. Eyes, nose, lungs and nervous system are seriously damaged after 30 minutes of exposure to 500 ppm of hydrogen sulphide gas and death results within 4 to 8 hours. At 1,000 ppm death occurs instantaneously -- after only one or two breaths. Correspondence and other materials related to construction of this huge new Unocal sour gas processing plant adjacent to the proposed Lubicon reserve are attached. Background information is as follows: Last October 8th the Lubicons received a letter from Unocal regarding "Proposed Plant Expansion at Battery Site". The text of the letter said "Unocal plans to install a 27.8 mmacfd gas processing plant and 2400 horsepower compressor on the existing battery site...(and has been)...advised by the Energy Resources Conservation Board that the consent of the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation must be obtained in support of the referenced plant expansion". The Lubicons did not provide the consent requested by Unocal because they did not want a sour gas processing plant built adjacent to their proposed reserve. Unocal therefore contacted the Lubicons and asked for a meeting. The first meeting between Unocal and the Lubicons occurred on August 30, 1993. Unocal presented some materials pertaining to the proposed sour gas processing plant and indicated that they would be back in touch with the Lubicons when the project "was better defined and Unocal corporate approval had been received". The Lubicons expressed concern with construction of a sour gas processing plant in their unceded territory and asked for complete information including a reaction from Unocal to reports of serious health problems at the Pincher Creek sour gas processing plant. The requested information was never received. The second meeting between Unocal and the Lubicons occurred on November 9th. Unocal representatives again mentioned the proposed sour gas processing plant but didn't respond to expressed Lubicon concerns about it saying that it was "down the road" and not of immediate concern. Instead Unocal representatives focused the discussion on "feeder lines" which the Lubicons understood were related to "expansion" of an existing battery station. "Feeder lines" were discussed again at a third meeting on December 7th. Unocal agreed to respect Lubicon wildlife and environmental concerns with respect to construction of those feeder lines and to consider Lubicons for any resulting employment opportunities especially in the areas of clean-up and restoration. The Lubicons in turn agreed not to oppose a Unocal application to the ERCB specifically with regard to these "feeder lines". (Unocal representatives claim that "the plant process, H2S content of the gas and operating pressures were discussed" at the December 7th meeting "and all safety concerns were alleviated". The Lubicons deny this however and say that Lubicon concerns about the proposed sour gas processing plant were never satisfactorily answered and that they were simply put off with the line that the plant was "down the road" and not of immediate concern.) On December 9th -- as per agreement reached during the December 7th meeting -- the Lubicons sent Unocal a letter which reads as follows: Pursuant to your letter of October 08, 1993, regarding Unocal Canada Management Limited's application for proposed plant expansion at the above noted location, and subsequent meetings between representatives of Unocal and the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation during which Unocal confirmed acceptance of (wildlife and environmental) conditions stipulated by the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation, the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation hereby agrees, without prejudice to our aboriginal rights and claims and the legal proceedings instituted by the Lubicon Nation, not to oppose the proposed PLANT EXPANSION (underlining added). By "proposed plant expansion" the Lubicons make clear that they understood they were talking only about "feeder lines" for the existing battery station and that they never intended not to oppose construction of a whole new sour gas processing plant. Moreover, contrary to slippery subsequent claims by both Unocal and representatives of the ERCB, there is no mention of constructing a whole new sour gas processing plant anywhere in the December 9th Lubicon letter. Unocal used this December 9th Lubicon letter with the ERCB as supposed evidence that the Lubicons didn't oppose construction of the new sour gas processing plant. The ERCB accepted this December 9th Lubicon letter agreeing not to oppose "proposed plant expansion" as evidence that the Lubicons did not oppose construction of a whole new sour gas processing plant. Whether Unocal consciously used the ambiguous term "plant expansion" to deliberately deceive the Lubicons isn't certain although in context the odds seem pretty good that this is what happened. What is certain is that the ERCB used the December 9th Lubicon letter agreeing not to oppose "proposed plant expansion" to grant Unocal "approval to construct and operate the Slave gas plant" -- another curious manoeuvre almost too neat to have been purely accidental. In early July representatives of Alberta Power advised the Lubicons that Alberta Power had been asked to provide a transformer for a new Unocal sour gas processing plant in the unceded Lubicon territory. Chief Ominayak asked Lubicon advisor Fred Lennarson to check with the ERCB and find out if the ERCB had given Unocal approval to proceed with construction of a new sour gas processing plant in the unceded Lubicon territory. Fred Lennarson checked with ERCB Gas Processing Plant Supervisor Murray Semchuck and confirmed that the ERCB had given Unocal approval to construct a new sour gas processing plant adjacent to the proposed Lubicon reserve. Chief Ominayak therefore immediately wrote Mr. Semchuck straightening out any possible past miscommunication and making Lubicon opposition to construction of the new Unocal gas processing plant crystal clear. The Chief's letter is dated July 8th and reads as follows: As Fred Lennarson told you when he spoke to you by phone on July 8th the Lubicon people never agreed not to oppose an application to the ERCB by Unocal to construct a 27.8 mmacfd gas processing plant at 8 & 9-15-84-14 W5M. Nor will we. What we agreed not to oppose was construction of "feeder" or "collection lines". Unocal wrote us a letter last October 8th requesting our "consent" to "install" such a "gas processing plant" in our unceded traditional territory. We did not provide that consent both because we oppose "installation" of any such plant in our unceded traditional territory and because the Unocal letter typically failed to mention our well known requirement that companies wishing to engage in development activities in our unceded traditional territory must be prepared to agree to respect Lubicon wildlife and environmental concerns and to consider Lubicons for any resulting employment opportunities especially in the areas of clean- up and restoration. In subsequent meetings Unocal representatives mentioned the "gas processing plant" but did not respond to our expressed concerns about it. Rather they chose to focus the discussion on construction of "feeder" or "collection" lines. They agreed to respect Lubicon wildlife and environmental concerns and to consider Lubicons for any resulting employment opportunities specifically WITH REGARD TO THESE "FEEDER" OR "COLLECTION" LINES. And the Lubicon people agreed not to oppose a Unocal application to the ERCB specifically WITH REGARD TO THESE "FEEDER" OR "COLLECTION" LINES. While the December 9th letter we sent to Anita Beaudin of Unocal may not capture the nature of our agreement with Unocal representatives as precisely as we would like that was our agreement and Unocal representatives know it. We never agreed not to oppose an application to the ERCB by Unocal to "install" a "gas processing plant" in our unceded territory nor will we. We only agreed not to oppose an application to the ERCB with regard to "feeder" or "collection" lines. Thus while there might conceivably have been inadvertent miscommunication between Unocal, the Lubicons and the ERCB prior to the Chief's July 8th letter, subsequent distortion and misrepresentation of the Lubicon position by both Unocal and the ERCB can't be dismissed so lightly. Chief Ominayak's July 8th letter regarding Lubicon opposition to the proposed Unocal sour gas processing plant couldn't be more clear. On July 12th Semchuck phoned Unocal Manager of Alberta Operations Bob Goldie and advised Mr. Goldie of the Lubicon letter of opposition. On July 13th Semchuck phoned the Lubicons and reported that a copy of the Chief's July 8th letter was being forwarded to Unocal asking Unocal "to comment with respect to the points in Chief Ominayak's letter". Semchuck said that the ERCB needs "to hear the positions from both sides". Semchuck told the Lubicons that Goldie had been "designated to respond to the Chief's letter by the Unocal team". He said "I want (Lubicon opposition) to be resolved through further dialogue and discussion". He said "Maybe something has been misaligned and we can get it restored fairly quickly". On July 14th Semchuck wrote Goldie requesting Unocal to respond to Chief Ominayak's July 8th letter. Mr. Semchuck's letter to Mr. Goldie reads, in part: This will serve to confirm our 12 July 1994 telephone conversation...As you recall, during the Gas Department's review of Application No. 931526, Unocal was requested to provide information regarding the communication that you carried out with Chief Ominayak and the Lubicon people regarding your above referenced project. In your submission dated 7 December 1993 you provided a chronology of the correspondence and communication Unocal had with the Lubicon people during a period of time from August 30th to 7 December 1993. Based on this information as well as all the required technical and environmental details and data which demonstrated the purpose and necessity for the gas processing plant, the Board issued the gas plant Board Approval No. 7411 to Unocal on 10 February 1994...Chief Ominayak has indicated in his 8 July 1994 letter that there was information exchanged between Unocal and the Lubicon people which emphasized the "feeder" or "collection" lines that would be required for Application No. 931526. He also indicates the following: "In subsequent meetings Unocal representatives mentioned the gas processing plant but did not respond to our expressed concerns about it. Based on the details provided in your application, the Gas Department recognizes that Unocal and the Lubicon people have endeavoured to communicate and discuss energy related developments and local issues. Therefore, Unocal is hereby requested to review Chief Ominayak's 8 July 1994 letter and address the matters he has raised through a written response to him. We request that you provide the Gas Department with a copy of your written reply. We understand that Unocal is prepared to proceed with (construction of) the 9-15 gas processing project very shortly. We anticipate receiving a copy of your letter on or before 27 July 1994. On July 21st the Lubicons received a 38 page fax communication from Unocal covered by a letter dated July 19th. Except for a 4 page chronology purporting to summarize meetings at which the Lubicon people supposedly agreed not to oppose the new sour gas processing plant the 38 page fax communication from Unocal consists essentially of technical information unrelated to the question of Lubicon opposition to the proposed new sour gas processing plant. The cover letter to the 38 page fax was signed for Unocal Manager of Alberta Operations Bob Goldie by a man named Gord Goodman and reads: Unocal is unclear on the concerns you expressed in your July 08, 1994 letter to Mr. Murray Semchuck of the ERCB. We believe that during the approval process our discussions and meetings with you and your representatives stressed open and honest communication. This is indicated in notes of meetings involving Unocal and the Lubicon Band representatives, handouts and correspondence. For your reference we have attached copies of these documents together with your (December 9th) letter approving the plant expansion. Also attached are other requirements regarding EPEA and ERCB approval. For our continued good working relationship, continued good communication is fundamental. If you would elaborate on your concerns for us, we would certainly endeavour to address them. As Unocal employees, we pride ourselves in maintaining high ethical standards, maintaining a safe and healthful workplace for employees and neighbours in the community, protecting the environment and complying with all regulations while conducting our business activities. You will find the Unocal team working on this area equal to the task. We would be pleased to review your concerns and meet to discuss them. On July 27th the first reports of construction at the site of the proposed sour gas processing plant at Lubicon Lake were received -- well after both Unocal and the ERCB had been clearly and unequivocally notified of Lubicon opposition. Thus while there might conceivably have been a misunderstanding about Lubicon opposition to the Unocal sour gas processing plant the previous December, it is not possible for either Unocal or the ERCB to claim misunderstanding at the point that Unocal actually proceeded with crash plant construction at the end of July. On August 7th, following the report that Unocal had commenced construction of its sour gas processing plant, Chief Ominayak asked Fred Lennarson to phone Murray Semchuck and check the status of the proposed sour gas processing plant. Fred Lennarson reached Mr. Semchuck the following morning. Semchuck told Fred Lennarson that the ERCB had sent Unocal a letter on July 14th asking for a reaction to the concerns expressed in Chief Ominayak's July 8th letter. Semchuck said that Unocal had replied to the Lubicons in writing on July 21st. Fred Lennarson told Semchuck that Unocal's July 21st package of materials proved nothing and settled nothing. Lennarson said that Unocal had only provided a pile of paper largely irrelevant to the issue of Lubicon opposition and were simply continuing to assert that the Lubicons had agreed not to oppose the sour gas processing plant while the Lubicons remain adamant that they never agreed not to oppose. Semchuck said that the July 21st Unocal cover letter indicates that Unocal would be pleased to meet with the Lubicons and discuss any Lubicon concerns. He said that he expected Unocal to follow-up and request a meeting with the Lubicons. He asked if Unocal had followed-up and requested a meeting. Lennarson told Semchuck that Unocal had not requested a meeting but had instead followed-up by starting construction at the site of the proposed sour gas processing plant. Semchuck denied knowledge of construction at the site but said that he would immediately check with Bob Goldie and find out about it. He asked Lennarson what the Lubicons wanted the ERCB to do. Lennarson told Semchuck that the ERCB should convene the public hearing provided in ERCB enabling legislation for persons whose rights are directly and adversely affected by a proposed energy facility. In the meantime, Lennarson said, the Lubicons are preparing to stop the plant from being put into operation by any means necessary. Semchuck asked for a letter from the Lubicons indicating that they'd reviewed the July 21st Unocal materials, stating that they still oppose construction of Unocal's proposed sour gas processing plant and spelling out their concerns with plant design, the environment or human health. Lennarson told Semchuck that he doubted the Lubicons would be prepared to become involved in a technical debate intended to produce supposed technical remedies to specific technical problems. He said that the Lubicons are well aware of the technical debate raging elsewhere with one side claiming one thing and the other side claiming something else. In the end, he said, whether one side or the other is factually correct cannot definitively be decided through a debate of conflicting technical information. He said one simply has to make a judgment as to whether one wants to have a sour gas processing plant built in their back yard and it is the judgment of the Lubicon people that they don't want to take a chance with the health of their children. Semchuck asked whether the Lubicon people would be prepared to consider an alternative site for the proposed sour gas processing plant. Lennarson told Semchuck that he didn't know whether the Lubicons would be prepared to consider an alternative site -- only that the Lubicons are not prepared to allow construction of a sour gas processing plant in their back yard. He said that he couldn't understand what it was about the Lubicon position which Unocal and the ERCB were having so much trouble comprehending. He told Semchuck that the Lubicons had made very clear that they simply didn't want the plant in their area period. Semchuck asked if the Chief would be prepared to send the ERCB a letter indicating simply that the Lubicons oppose construction of the proposed sour gas processing plant at the proposed site due to concerns over human health. Lennarson said that the Lubicons might be prepared to send a letter indicating that they opposed construction of the proposed sour gas processing plant at the proposed site for reasons of the threat it poses to the environment and human health. However, he said, the Lubicons are also concerned about the threat to wildlife and the environment generally and a letter indicating opposition to the proposed sour gas processing plant at the proposed site should not be taken to mean that the Lubicons are prepared to go along with an alternative site in their traditional territory. Lennarson reported his August 8th phone conversation with Semchuck to Chief Ominayak who immediately faxed Semchuck the following letter: Pursuant to your phone conversation with Fred Lennarson earlier today this letter is to formally advise the ERCB that the Lubicon people have reviewed the package of materials on the proposed Unocal sour gas plant faxed to us by (Unocal) on July 21st. All these materials show is that we continue to disagree about what was and what was not agreed with regard to Lubicon opposition to the proposed Unocal sour gas plant. Since this controversy began we have also had the opportunity to review materials from other places regarding the effect of sour gas plants on wildlife, the environment and human health. While these materials are not definitive it is clear that sour gas plants may have very serious effects on wildlife, the environment and human health and the Lubicon people are not prepared to take a chance with the health and well-being of our children. It is therefore our intention to continue to oppose construction of the proposed Unocal sour gas plant in our traditional territory. In this regard we have been in communication with our friends and allies around the world and have been assured of their support should Unocal attempt to proceed with construction of this proposed sour gas plant in our traditional territory. On August 18th Alberta Power wrote Chief Ominayak indicating that Alberta Power had applied to the ERCB for approval to construct a new transmission substation to provide power to the proposed Unocal sour gas processing plant and asking the Lubicons to "Please advise the ERCB in writing if you have any concerns or objections regarding the applied-for project". Having previously been in verbal contact with the Lubicons Alberta Power already knew the Lubicon reaction. On August 19th Chief Ominayak wrote the ERCB as follows: As we have already advised representatives of Alberta Power Limited the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation strongly opposes Application No. 940704 requesting authority to construct an electric power substation to provide power to the proposed Unocal sour gas plant which we also strongly oppose. For your information our strong opposition to the proposed Unocal sour gas plant is formally recorded in the attached letter sent to Mr. Murray Semchuck on August 08, 1994. On August 19th Bob Goldie sent Chief Ominayak a fax communication proposing to meet at the site of the proposed sour gas processing plant on August 24th, to take the Lubicons on a tour of the facility, to serve the Lubicons lunch and to then engage in "a round table discussion of the points you made to the ERCB". (Chief Ominayak was participating in a week-long international Taiga Rescue Network Conference on protection of the boreal forest and didn't see Mr. Goldie's fax until several days later.) On August 23rd Chief Ominayak received a letter from the ERCB acknowledging receipt of his August 19th letter opposing the Alberta Power application to construct an electric power substation to provide power to the proposed Unocal sour gas processing plant. The letter reads "The ERCB will advise you, in due course, of its consideration of the (Alberta Power) application". On August 25th Unocal President Fritz Perschon told reporters that the first he'd heard about Lubicon objection to the Unocal sour gas processing plant was a week earlier -- the week of August 15th -- when he supposedly learned from the ERCB that the Lubicons had filed an objection. Previously, he said, it was his understanding that the Lubicons had agreed to the project. (Either Mr. Perschon is not kept informed about major projects being undertaken by the company of which he's president or he's less than truthful in his public pronouncements. Frankly it's hard to imagine that nobody told Mr. Perschon of formal Lubicon opposition to the $10 million dollar plant in fact filed with the ERCB nearly two months earlier on July 8th -- casting into doubt the veracity of other controversial claims made by Mr. Perschon and his Unocal subordinates.) Also on August 25th Bob Goldie sent Chief Ominayak a second fax reading as follows: Unocal is pleased to respond to your letter of August 08, 1994 to Murray Semchuck of the Energy Resources Conservation Board. It is the desire of Unocal Canada to continue free and open discussion regarding the Slave Shallow Gas Processing Plant in order to ensure a good level of understanding by all concerned parties. In order to further foster open communication, Unocal would like to propose that its Slave Shallow Gas Team meet with the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation representatives at their council hall on Tuesday, August 30, 1994 at 1:30 PM or a time more convenient for you. We offer, at this meeting, an opportunity to discuss this project with the Manager of the Asset Team, the Technical Representatives of Unocal and as well a medical doctor who can discuss health issues that have been raised by the Lubicon people. We hope that this group will be satisfactory to discuss the concerns that you have expressed. If you have other issues that you would like to discuss or would prefer that other individuals attended to provide you with more detailed information, please advise. I will follow this letter with a phone call to address any arrangements you may wish to make for this meeting. Chief Ominayak was still participating in the week-long international Taiga Rescue Network Conference when Mr. Goldie's second fax arrived and would not return to his office until the following Monday, August 29th. (Continued in Part 2)