News
Sep 25, 2011
Minister faces polite protest over Lake Ainslie drilling plan (Nova Scotia)
By MARY ELLEN MacINTYRE Cape Breton Bureau
WAYCOBAH — When Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau came here Saturday, he expected to find a few protesters upset with his department’s decision to allow the drilling of an exploratory oil well in nearby Lake Ainslie.
He wasn’t disappointed.
“Lake Ainslie is just over that mountain and people throughout this region feel very strongly that exploratory drilling is wrong,” said Rebecca Parkins, pointing toward the dark green mountain towering behind the Waycobah First Nation School.
She was one of the 35 protesters who showed up during the province’s annual Aquaculture Harvest Festival to protest the provincial government’s decision to grant PetroWorth Resources Inc. an exploratory licence.
For the most part, the protesters were polite, holding up signs and posters to vent their dismay with the plan.
After participating in the festival, Belliveau said he had a polite conversation with the protesters.
“I told them I understand their concerns and the issues they raised about the exploratory drilling,” he said. “The approval given to the company sets a limit on the depth the drilling will travel through the ground. I’m very confident there will be no implications for the environment.”
The permit given Petroworth Resources is for a conventional, vertical well and does not involve fracking, otherwise known as hydraulic fracturing, which involves injecting pressurized fluids containing chemicals into the rock to gain access to oil or natural gas.
“The minister did listen to us but his department didn’t do a full blown environmental assessment of this project and the thing I worry about is this is opening the door to fracking,” said Anne Levesque.
Some of the protesters said Belliveau doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
“No one feels our concerns are being addressed,” Levesque said.
Protesters said more large trucks on the road going to the drill site, the storage of toxic chemicals there, the possibility of accidents and spills will have a negative effect on the environment and the quality of life in the region.
Parkins, who lives near where the drilling will take place, said she has put her life on hold since the permit was granted.
“We’ll keep fighting and we’ll keep gathering information,” she said.
A public meeting will be held at the Lions hall on Highway 395 on Oct. 6 to continue the protest campaign. It begins at 7 p.m.
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