Government will authorize a pilot project to dispose of two million litres of treated hydraulic fracturing wastewater held in Debert.

Environment Minister Randy Delorey presented details at an evening community meeting in Truro today, April 16.

“After considering the community’s concerns and reviewing the tests on the treated water, I am satisfied that this pilot project can proceed safely,” said Mr. Delorey. “I wanted to share this information with the community before giving the company permission to move forward with its plans.”

The treated water from Atlantic Industrial Services meets Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment and Health Canada guidelines to be released into freshwater.

Beginning next week, the company will transport two million litres of treated water from the Debert holding ponds to the Lafarge Canada cement plant in Brookfield. The pilot project will continue for about three weeks, with three to five truckloads of water being moved daily.

The water will be used as coolant in the kiln and will be evaporated at 700 C. Lafarge will test its equipment before and after using the water for residual inorganic materials.

“The storage ponds in Debert and in Kennetcook were not designed to house this water for the long term,” said Mr. Delorey. “We want to proceed with the pilot project and assess how it works as a possible solution.”

Documents on hydraulic fracturing wastewater in Nova Scotia, including test results, are available at www.novascotia.ca/nse/pollutionprevention/pubs.asp .

Source: Release