Margaree Environmental Association holding press conference

Margaree Environmental Association holding press conference by Ryan Van Horne, June 25, 2012, Cape Breton Post
The Margaree Environmental Association will ask a Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice to overturn Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau’s Dec. 20, 2011, decision that denied the association’s appeal and cleared the way for Petroworth to drill an exploratory well before July 15. Neil Livingston, co-chair of the Margaree Environmental Association, said he and fellow co-chair Brian Peters will make presentations as will Robert Parkins and Marilyn MacDonald. “We’ll be talking about the case in a way that’s non-technical,” Livingston said. “Even in court, the language tends to be very technical about these issues. It’s something that you wouldn’t get in the court case. You’ve got the next-door resident saying how outrageous it is that this drilling is going to be near his home.” There has been a groundswell of community support for this legal challenge and the group was able to raise more than $10,000 to fund the appeal in less than four weeks. “There is tremendous opposition to this happening,” Livingston said. “It’s completely inappropriate to be happening where it’s happening — or even in the neighbourhood of where it’s happening. It’s too close to homes, drinking wells, and watercourses.”