B.C. NDP leadership hopeful Adrian Dix claims he is the only candidate officially taking on a controversial method of recovering natural gas from deep rock formations.

“I think I’m the only one, in my platform, who has formally said there should be a review of fracking [hydraulic fracturing], and I am glad that the other people have joined my pro-environment message,” Dix told the Straight following an all-candidates debate on the environment at the Creekside Community Centre on April 2.

On March 29, just ahead of the event, Dix unveiled a two-page document containing seven top environmental policies. In the first, relating to action on climate change and strong energy policies, Dix promised to conduct “accountability reviews of the public concerns related to ”˜fracking’ impacts and sour gas and greenhouse gas emissions in the ”˜upstream’ oil and gas insustry”.

At the event, Dix reinforced his belief that there are “too many unanswered questions” about the practice. During the fracking process, high volumes of water, chemicals, and sometimes sand are pumped deep underground, under high pressure, to fracture rock—usually shale—to enable the natural gas to rise to the surface.

Leadership hopeful Mike Farnworth told the Straight he wanted to see “strong science” on fracking, through the Environment Ministry.

“We need to have a full environmental assessment on groundwater and have groundwater legislation in place, and make sure that our groundwater is protected and is not being damaged by activities such as fracking,” Farnworth said at the event. “It’s an issue of concern right across the continent. And what we need is a government that recognizes the public concern on that, and when we do, get some solid, science-based research done on its impacts, in particular [on] groundwater in British Columbia.”

According to Spencer Chandra Herbert, when he brings up the issue of “fracking” with constituents, they respond, “Why are you swearing at me?”

The Vancouver-West End NDP MLA said there is not enough awareness of the issue or its potential hazards. However, speaking to the Straight after the leadership debate, Chandra Herbert said his party plans on changing that.

“It is really important that we educate about it,” he said. “And I was excited to hear our leadership candidates putting forward some ideas of what we can do as government to deal with the issues that come out of it, including the huge waste of water.”

Chandra Herbert noted his surprise during a public accounts meeting last year, when he learned of the B.C. auditor general’s audit of B.C.’s groundwater resources, which led to his report released in December 2010. Chandra Herbert said John Doyle’s report clearly demonstrated there is “no monitor” for groundwater sources, or aquifers.

“We don’t know if we’re going to make them unusable, extinct, whatever you want to term it, because the monitoring is not going on,” Chandra Herbert said.

Of all the NDP leadership candidates—Dix, Farnworth, John Horgan, Dana Larsen, and Nicholas Simons—only Larsen called for a total ban on fracking—something advocated by Vancouver-based activist Will Koop of the B.C. Tap Water Alliance.

“Fracking is just not on,” Larsen said during the April 2 debate. “We have to stop doing that in our province altogether. That’s not going to happen any more under my leadership.”

Chandra Herbert said finance critic Bruce Ralston first heard about fracking from northern residents, before reading a cover story in the Georgia Straight which led him to raise the issue with others in the B.C. NDP caucus.