HALIFAX – Two new reports from an expert panel on hydraulic fracturing in Nova Scotia suggest the process — if handled properly — does not pose a serious threat to the province’s groundwater supply.
The panel, led by Cape Breton University president David Wheeler, says the province’s stable geology will make contamination of drinking water wells less likely.
The reports also say that establishing monitoring and regulatory practices to ensure wells are properly installed is “relatively straightforward.”
The panel says there’s little chance that the fracking process itself could affect drinking water aquifers because the oil and gas deposits sought are deep underground.
However, the panel says that operational practices at drilling sites must be carefully monitored and further research is needed to determine how fracking wastewater can be safely disposed of.
In 2012, the Nova Scotia government placed a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, saying it needed more time to study the practice.