This past Saturday the Toronto Star reported that Calgary-based Mooncor Oil & Gas Corp. has been buying land rights in southwestern Ontario to drill for shale gas through a process known as hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’. Mooncor intends to drill in the Kettle Point Formation known as Antrim Shale in Lambton and Kent counties, and the Collingwood/Blue Mountain formations known as Utica Shale.
As described by Environmental Leader news, “the hydraulic fracturing process involves taking water from the ground, pumping fracturing fluids and sands into the wells under pressure, then separating and managing the leftover water after withdrawing the gas.” Natural Resources Canada and Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources promote shale gas drilling in Ontario.
Today, in the Chatham Daily News, “Mark Calzavara, a regional organizer for the Council of Canadians, said the drilling could pose an environmental threat. The hydraulic fracturing process can lead to ground water contamination with heavy metals and even radioactive materials drawn from the rock, he said. ‘Fracking is very scary. It’s created a gold rush mentality amongst a lot of oil companies and it has a lot of deleterious effects on ground water.’ Calzavara said landowners who have signed agreements with the company should measure and test their well water before and during the work. ‘Locally, you have to look at protecting your ground water because no one else will,’ he said.”
The news report is at http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2506591. The campaign blog is at http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=3090.
