Sipekne'katik First Nation protestors rally against Alton natural gas project
Environment Minister's decision on six appeals of the AltaGas project coming soon
Members of the Sipekne'katik First Nation waved signs and drummed in front of the Nova Scotia Legislature Thursday, a protest against a proposed natural gas storage project that comes days before the environment minister must rule on six appeals filed against it.
The Calgary company behind the Alton project, AltaGas, wants to store natural gas in three underground salt caverns near Stewiacke. The province approved the application in January.
In February, six appeals were filed with Nova Scotia's Environment Department. Environment Minister Margaret Miller has yet to respond to any of them. The deadline to release a decision on the first of the appeals is April 19. All of the decisions are required before the end of April.
- Sipekne'katik First Nation to appeal Alton project
- Alton natural gas storage facility gets green light
On April 8, AltaGas announced it would pause construction on the natural gas storage project until the summer. In a news release, the company said "we are committed to working in good faith to develop long-term relationships with the community and the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia."
Some environmentalists are concerned salty water from drilling the underground caverns will be released into the Shubenacadie River system. Some Mi'kmaq chiefs have expressed concern they were not adequately consulted.
