Halifax, NS – Sierra Club Atlantic welcomes the ban of the import of dangerous fracking waste announced today in Nova Scotia. Last spring, Sierra Club launched a petition calling for the ban, and the NS Liberal Party promised to ban the import of fracking waste in the lead up to the provincial election last September.
“This is a relief for Nova Scotians and Nova Scotian municipalities who feared that we were going to be tasked with dealing with toxic fracking waste in the region,” according to Gretchen Fitzgerald, Director of Sierra Club Atlantic, “I am thrilled to see the leadership in this province demonstrate they are taking the threat represented by toxic fracking waste seriously.”
In the past, Nova Scotia accepted millions of litres of fracking waste from New Brunswick. A company planning to frack on the West Coast of Newfoundland had said in public meetings that it intended to send its fracking waste to Nova Scotia.
“I initiated our petition to ban the import of fracking waste because the ultimate recipient of this waste would be our rivers and the Bay of Fundy,” stated Heidi Verheul, Community Outreach Coordinator for Sierra Club Atlantic. “Traveling throughout the region, I now know that the waste generated by fracking is a key concern, and that those wanting fracking stopped will be relieved that Nova Scotia is no longer open for business when it comes to fracking waste.”
“Fracking waste can contain a chemical cocktail with unknown ingredients. I don’t think Nova Scotians should have to take the risk of handing this waste, especially when Nova Scotians are still reviewing this risks of allowing fracking to go ahead,” adds Emma Hebb, Chair of Sierra Club Atlantic. “I hope this Bill will make other provinces in the region take a serious second look at their responsibility for generating and managing this waste.”
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