The Minnie Lake Conservation Society held an open meeting on Thursday to discuss what's next in its goal of amending or stopping proposed drilling near Minnie Lake.
Around 30 people attended and heard presentations by Cindy Kissel, Coralee Beaulieu, and Walter Czuroski from the society.
Beaulieu told the group that the ERCB granted its request for a postponement of the public hearing originally scheduled for November.
The group requested postponing the hearing to have more time to gather information and "expert" witnesses to bring to the hearing. The hearing is now scheduled in Glendon on Feb. 15-18.
CNRL applied to the ERCB to drill 15 wells near Minnie Lake in November.
MLCS wants water from or near Minnie Lake off-limits for the company and a gas recovery system installed. They also want the ERCB to prevent drilling underneath the lake and the cementing of production castings.
The meeting wasn't about giving CNRL a hard time, according to spokesperson Walter Czuroski. Rather, people present at the meeting want to ensure that if development must proceed, it goes forward with consideration of all safety and environmental concerns.
"If they must drill, then we want to make sure that they've looked at every possible aspect of safety, hydrology, and all those issues," he said after the meeting, although, in a "perfect scenario, no drilling."
He said he supports the farmers in the area allowing CNRL to drill on their land, but wants CNRL to back away from the lake more than the company has so far agreed to consider.
"What makes me afraid is if something does go wrong and it gets into the channels, that's it. All of the channels will be contaminated," said society member and Glendon resident, Thelma Watrich, after the meeting.
Watrich's home draws water from the Beverly channel aquifer, which the society thinks could be connected to the groundwater source that feeds Minnie Lake.
The society said it needed more time to gather "expert" opinion based on bore hole sampling before the ERCB hearing, prompting the request to postpone the November hearing.
In an e-mail to the Nouvelle, Northeast District Landman Blaine Parker said CNRL anticipates recovery of the solution gas for use as lease fuel or for sale, but that they need to find out how much gas successful wells produce before determining the need for gas recovery as regulated by ERCB Directive 060.
"There is no technical reason why drilling cannot occur 'under' a water body. This occurs regularly throughout Western Canada as noted earlier by the ERCB," Parker said. The proposed wells exceed the setbacks required by Alberta Environment and the ERCB from the lake.
He added that CNRL voluntarily committed to set deeper than required surface casing and cementing as of June in response to concerns raised.
"Canadian Natural's proposed wells and facilities will be conducted in accordance with ERCB requirements which ensure they will be done safely with no impact on Minnie Lake," Parker said.
CNRL commissioned an independent hydrological assessment of the Minnie Lake area in early 2008, which said the proposed drilling is expected to have no effect on the lake.
