Villagers Favour Shale Exploration at Public Debate in Bacesti, Romania
Romania’s National Agency for Mineral Resources (NAMR) continued its shale gas information campaign by organizing a debate in the Bacesti Commune as part of the project implemented with the help of the European Commission.
The debate took place in Vaslui, which prompted accusations that villagers in outlying areas were restricted.
Gheorghe Dutu, president of the National Agency for Mineral Resources, says that Romania cannot afford to abandon shale gas and must take the resources into consideration as gas sources are dwindling. He also commented that offshore potential is good but that everything must be done in accordance with environmental provisions. According to Dutu, Romania cannot afford to disobey the program imposed. “The NAMR approves technologies used and our inspectors will verify the fulfillment of every stage of the environmental conditions,” said Dutu.
Environmental activist Tiberiu Nechita suggested that Vaslui was chosen as the debate location and not Bacesti because residents are mostly poor and could not afford the trip. He also said the Mayor brought with him only a selected handful of people.
NAMR says the move to Vaslui was motivated because of large interest shown and necessary space.
100 villagers took part in the debate with Gheorghe Dutu, Claudia Raileanu, general manager of NAMR, Ninel Paianjen, legal councilor and Professor of Geology Corneliu Dinu as well as environmental activists.
Professor Dinu, Dean of Geology and Geo-physics faculty in Bucharest presented the benefits of shale gas exploration.
Previous debates with both villagers and environmentalists were not productive due to conflicting views. This time villagers did not allow environmental activists to ask questions and villagers from Bacesti who took part in the debate clearly stated: “We agree with shale gas exploration.”
“We need to explore for shale gas in order to know the structure of the underground. The companies that make these operations are obliged to provide the information they obtain. Thus, the Romanian state can benefit from these information to later on exploit these resources,” added Gheorghe Dutu.
“If they do not find gas, then it is all over. If they find gas, then I will ask for a debate, an impact study concerning our commune and a royalty for our commune,” said Mayor Horatiu Carausu.
George Epurescu of Romania fara EI (Romania without THEM) thinks debate was inconclusive: “The legal framework of public debates states that the information portion must be completed first, then followed by a community debate.” Only five people from Bacesti attended, according to Epurescu, which did not fulfill the representation requirement. Additionally, the Mayor, “who is a political chameleon and a professional party hopper,” hand-picked participants. If the debate had taken place in Bacesti, the anger of the people would not have been contained - which reflects the real state of mind in the Commune.
Gabriel Petrescu