The Nova Scotia Legislature has resolved to ban
"high-volume, hydraulic fracturing" in Nova Scotia. On
October 30, 2014, Bill 6, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Resources
Act, received approval of the Committee of the Whole House to be
passed into law on a future date.
Bill 6 will prohibit "high-volume hydraulic fracturing"
in shale unless exempted by regulation for the purpose of testing
or research. What exactly is "high-volume hydraulic
fracturing" is to be make clear in future regulations.
This summer an independent panel of experts asked to review
hydraulic fracturing by the Nova Scotia government recommend
further study before the practice is allowed. The panel felt that
it did not have enough information on the regional shales in Nova
Scotia to decide if hydraulic fracturing should be allowed, and
called for further research and a period of "reflection,
dialogue and discussion".
