The Cape Breton Post reports, “(The Toronto-based oil and gas company) PetroWorth has applied for a permit to drill an exploratory 1,200-metre well in an area on the western side of Lake Ainslie just south of MacIsaac’s Point. (PetroWorth president Neal) Mednick has said his application does not include hydraulic fracturing, a technique which is also known as fracking. But he has not ruled it out at some point in the future, depending on if it is seen to be necessary, feasible and if it would be possible to get approval.”
“Critics of fracking in the Lake Ainslie area fear it can contaminate groundwater, well water and soil and also worry about the potential for an oil spill.” Lake Ainslie is the largest freshwater lake in Nova Scotia. PetroWorth’s proposed drilling site lies within the Lake Ainslie watershed area, which feeds a number of other rivers including the historic Margaree River and its salmon spawning grounds. Council of Canadians Board member and Inverness County chapter activist Anne Levesque has said, “We have concerns about our health. We have concerns about the ecology of the lake. And we’re concerned about our drinking water.”
“Mednick said this week the target start date has been deferred several times from last November to this June and now to the fall while the company awaits approval for a permit for which it applied in September. …Mednick said he believes there is oil at the proposed Lake Ainslie drilling site. ‘The question is, is it there in commercial quantities, are there traps and is it there in a pool that can be commercially extracted? We believe there is but you don’t know until you drill.’ …A drilling permit typically takes 45 days to approve, Mednick noted. ‘I guess because of some of the controversy that has been going on, we still don’t have the permit. We are assuming we are going to get it but we can’t commit to a drilling rig until we do get it.’ …PetroWorth would have to make another application if it did opt to try fracking, he has said.”
“The Nova Scotia government announced earlier this month it will review environmental issues associated with hydraulic fracturing… During a large anti-fracking protest on Earth Day in front of the Nova Scotia legislature, Thom Oommen of the Inverness chapter of the Council of Canadians, said he doesn’t trust a process that appears to limit public input and he would like to see public hearings.”
The Cape Breton Post article is at http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2011-04-27/article-2460171/Company-hoping-to-begin-drilling-in-Lake-Ainslie-block-this-fall/1.
