Judge rejects Elsipogtog injunction application to stop SWN seismic testing for shale gas in New Brunswick

Judge rejects Elsipogtog injunction application to stop SWN seismic testing by The Canadian Press, November 18, 2013, Global News Toronto

Court rules today on injunction to stop shale gas tests, Elsipogtog First Nation cites risk of violence, lack of consultation as reasons to suspend licences by CBC News, November 18, 2013 Arguments were made in court on Friday before Justice Judy Clendenning. She said she would make her ruling at 4 p.m. today. …

Premier David Alward argued again last Thursday that testing for shale gas development potential is low-impact and said SWN will comply with a higher standard of consultation if it finds enough shale gas to develop. “There will be a very significant consultation process that will be required to be undertaken by them,” said Alward. But Elsipogtog argues it’s not SWN Resources Canada, but the province that has to consult. And since positive tests would lead inevitably to development, Elsipogtog’s lawyers argued the province has already failed its duty to consult and testing should stop now. [Emphasis added]

Judge to rule on application for injunction to stop seismic testing by Canadian Press, November 18, 2013, Financial Post
A judge in New Brunswick is expected to rule today on an application by the (EL-see-BOOK-took) Elsipogtog First Nation for an injunction to stop seismic testing for shale gas. Judge Judy Clendenning reserved her decision in the Court of Queen’s Bench last week. In an affidavit, Elsipogtog Chief Aaron Sock says he has been told that members of his community and other First Nations will respond if SWN Resources continues its exploration and the RCMP are present. But Richard Williams, representing New Brunswick’s attorney general and the minister of energy and mines, told the judge an injunction should not be granted based on hearsay that something might happen. The company’s lawyer said Friday that SWN Resources, whose proposal to search for shale gas in the province has sparked protests, is not violating anyone’s rights by conducting seismic testing. SWN says granting an injunction would cause the company about $54,000 for each day crews and trucks are not able to do their work.

[Refer also to:

Hydraulic Fracturing Independent Review and Public Consultation

Public Announcement by Cape Breton University, November 16, 2013

Call for Nominations for Membership to the Expert Panel on Hydraulic Fracturing in Nova Scotia. On August 28th 2013 it was announced that the Nova Scotia Department of Energy had commissioned the Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and the Environment at Cape Breton University to conduct an independent review and public consultation to explore the social, economic, environmental, and health implications of hydraulic fracturing practices and their associated wastewater streams. ]

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