Yesterday, Inverness County council unanimously passed a resolution that aims to increase the municipality's clout when it comes making decisions on oil and gas exploration. The immediate threat to the area is an exploratory well site owned by Toronto-based company Petroworth, which, while not running yet, is located 30 metres from a brook that feeds into the Margaree watershed. The well site is also very close to residences, and has been the source of a court appeal by the Margaree Environmental Association.

Anne Levesque of the Inverness County chapter of the Council of Canadians notes that the resolution is “a little bit vague, and a little bit disappointing,” in that it does not define actual prohibited distances between well sites and watercourses. Instead, the resolution notes that wells must be a “safe and acceptable distance” from waterways. Based on who is defining the terms, “safe and acceptable” are potentially in the eye of the beholder, or shareholder.

Also addressed in yesterday's resolution is the fact that the province did not consult with Inverness County prior to leasing the Petroworth site. Nor has the province conducted any type of environmental impact study into the matter, which flies in the face of its meticulous data gathering in relation to other less potentially-harmful means of energy generation, such as wind. The Inverness County resolution asks for municipal consultation in all “present and future” oil and gas related matters, and also asks for a proper environmental impact assessment before any drilling is conducted.

While the notion of job creation is constantly floated as a positive offshoot by oil and gas proponents, it does bear noting that Inverness County has among the highest median household incomes in the province, and has in place what many consider to be a highly successful, 25-year-projected, “Integrated Community Sustainability Plan,” all without any oil or gas exploration.

The resolution, however, is largely symbolic in nature. It certainly represents a unanimous voice of Inverness Municipal Council, but it does not necessarily mean that business, or the province, needs to listen.

“If Petroworth wanted to start drilling tomorrow, I don't think this resolution would be able to stop them.” says Levesque.

The original wording of the resolution, put forward by councillor Gloria LeBlanc, would have prohibited the sale of water in Inverness County for the purpose of hydraulic fracturing, the water-intensive process by which a slurry of chemicals and water is forced under high pressure into shale rock. Council could not, however, come to a unanimous decision based upon this wording.

Please see the attached resolution.