CBC.ca reports that, “Opponents of oil and gas exploration in West Lake Ainslie (in Nova Scotia) are gearing up for another fight to block a Toronto-based firm from testing in Cape Breton’s Inverness County. (In order to proceed with exploration) Petroworth Resources must hold (an) open house to fulfill (provincial) Department of Energy policy. The format typically sees company and provincial government representatives spread out around the room at separate tables or booths.”
“Anne Levesque, a member of the Inverness County Chapter of the Council of Canadians, said that process isn’t good enough. Levesque said members want a public forum where Petroworth and Nova Scotia government civil servants will have to take questions in front of an audience. ‘I could see how they would not want this, maybe they would think it’s too confrontational, but this is a democracy,’ Levesque said. ‘We want to be involved in this decision. We don’t want to just be a check mark on a list.'”
“(The chapter is) worried that Toronto-based Petroworth Resources Inc. might eventually use the hydraulic fracking process, also known as hydro-fracking, in its test well. Hydro-fracking is a process where companies pump a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into the ground, creating cracks in shale rock formations. That allows companies to extract natural gas from areas that would otherwise go untapped. Opponents say the fracking process injects chemicals into the ground that can damage the environment and people’s health.” In early September the chapter sent an open letter to Nova Scotia premier Darrell Dexter outlining their concerns about this project.
“The open house will take place from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the West Lake Ainslie Hall on Wednesday.”
CBC has reported that Petroworth Resources hopes to drill for oil on land in West Lake Ainslie in late-October or November. Lake Ainslie is the largest freshwater lake in Nova Scotia.
The full article is at http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/10/13/ns-inverness-petroworth-fracking-630.html.