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ARTICLE · 19 FEBRUARY 2014

Quebec Court Strikes Down Municipal Anti-Fracking Bylaw

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A Quebec court has struck down a Gaspe municipal bylaw that tried to prevent exploratory oil wells being drilled and fracked uncomfortably close to its drinking water supply.

CanadaEnergy and Natural Resources
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A Quebec court has struck down a Gaspe municipal bylaw that tried to prevent exploratory oil wells being drilled and fracked uncomfortably close to its drinking water supply. The court ruled that the bylaw was invalid because it prevented Petrolia Inc. from carrying out drilling specifically authorized by the province. 

One of the drill sites is only 350 metres from homes served by the municipal water system and within two kilometres of some 400 homes that depend on drinking water wells. One of those homes is only 850 metres away. Petrolia Inc. testified that it would not be fracking these particular wells, because it was not necessary for the local geology, so the issue was focussed on municipal concerns about risks from drilling muds.

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