The select committee on hydraulic fracturing could not reach consensus on whether it should be allowed here, says the committee’s final report delivered this morning.

Nor could the committee reach consensus on whether fracking could be done safely, whether social licence is required before permitting fracking and whether to proceed with the development of a regulatory regime around hydraulic fracturing.

The committee also recommended hydraulic fracturing not be allowed without the approval of the First Nation whose traditional territory is being affected.

The report documents unanimous opposition to fracking by the Yukon First Nations who participated in the public hearing process and who supported an anti-fracking resolution passed unanimously by the Council of Yukon First Nations.

One of the 21 recommendations reads: “THAT the Government of Yukon should respect First Nation final agreements and its ongoing obligations towards non-settled First Nations in addressing any issue related to hydraulic fracturing.”

The Yukon has seen a huge anti-fracking movement over the last couple of years.

In its 25-page report, the committee summarizes gaps in knowledge and scientific understanding of hydraulic fracturing, as it heard over the last year during public hearings, community meetings and individual submissions.

“Impacts on groundwater quality are generally not predictable using established scientific analyses because such impacts would likely be gradual, over decades or longer,” says the final report.

“The baseline hydrogeological and hydro geochemical conditions of groundwater flow systems in areas of Canada where there is, or may be, shale gas development are poorly understood.”

It says the impact of chemicals used in the fracking process is also poorly understood, as is the time it would take for ground water and surface water to clean themselves if contaminated by those chemicals.

There is major gap in the knowledge regarding the release of methane gas into the atmosphere and the impact on climate change resulting from the fracking process.

The committee is recommending an extensive library of baseline information on ground water, air quality, wildlife, earthquake activity and human health be established before fracking is permitted in the Yukon.

Energy analyst Sebastian Jones of the Yukon Conservation Society said today while the report does not say fracking should be banned, it does lay down some serious ground work required before it’s ever allowed.

It would be a monumental task to fulfill the recommendations outlined in the report before fracking proceeds in the Yukon, he said.

“The Yukon Conservation Society is disappointed the committee did not recommend a ban on fracking in the future,” he said. “But we are encouraged by the scope of the recommendations that would have to be met before it is allowed.

“So it does look like a de facto moratorium,” Jones said of the committee’s report.

Premier Darrell Pasloski was not available this morning for an interview.

Nor was committee chair Patti McLeod, the Yukon Party’s Watson Lake MLA.

NDP committee members Lois Moorcroft and Jim Tredger, as well as Liberal Leader Sandy Silver, were also unavailable for comment this morning.

The committee’s 21 recommendations fall under the the sub-headings of Public Dialogue, Water, Greenhouse Gases and Other Air Emissions, Land and Seismic Impact and Human and Health and Social Impacts.

In a statement issued just before press time, Pasloski said his government will carefully review the report’s findings and recommendations before determining how best to proceed.

“On behalf of the Yukon Party government, I’d like to thank the select committee members for their dedication and hard work, as well as the Yukoners who attended the public meetings and provided their input,” said Pasloski.

“We will take some time to review the report. As I’ve said many times, this Yukon government is strongly committed to the responsible development of Yukon’s oil and gas resources.”

The select committee was established by Order of the Yukon Legislative Assembly on May 6, 2013. Members included McLeod, Moorcroft (vice-chair), cabinet minister Currie Dixon, Vuntut Gwitchin MLA Darius Elias of the Yukon Party, Silver and Tredger.

“I’m pleased with what the select committee was able to achieve as an all-party body,” Elias said in the press release issued by the premier.

“We have fulfilled our mandate by holding 13 public meetings, 42 meetings of the select committee, receiving and reviewing 435 written submissions, and creating this report for the legislative assembly.

“While the committee members’ fundamental differences of opinion on some items did not allow us to reach consensus on every matter, we were able to find common ground on 21 recommendations, which speaks to the commitment of the members,” said Elias.

A statement by NDP spokesman Mike Fancie said: “We’re confident that anyone who reads the Select Committee’s final report will see that there’s a lot at stake in deciding whether fracking has a future here in Yukon

“The final report makes it clear what Yukoners want and what the scientific community knows – or doesn’t know – about fracking.

“We certainly hope that the government takes this report and the hundreds of public submissions the committee received into consideration.”