Fracking Leads to Unfounded Criticism of County Council

A story, published here on September 19th, has led to angry calls and criticism of Cumberland Municipality. A number of people felt the county might apply for fracking permits. That could not be further from the truth.

Any application for fracking would be handled exclusively by the province. And further, Cumberland County would never be an applicant, it would more likely be one or more exploration companies interested in oil or shale gas.

Fracking is an issue that stirs up the emotions. Many people have adopted strong opinions on fracking, either for or against, often with a great deal of emotion and little understanding of the pros and cons.

The earlier story on county council’s intentions gives credit to the council for anticipating the return of the debate, and their desire to better understand the issues, if asked.

Council has decided to study the independent report of the Wheeler Commission, which produced a 300 page study of the challenges, along with the possible rewards and dangers.

Council will study the weighty report over the next six to eight months, reviewing and discussing the issues in bite sized chunks.

The councillors hope to be ready to respond, with a better understanding of fracking, if and when exploration companies approach the province for permits to drill in Cumberland.

Six Rivers News regrets that our story was not perfectly clear, leading some to be critical of council, when residents should have been proud of their local councillors who simply wanted to be better informed on a very contentious topic. We have edited the lead on the former story (updated and found HERE) to provide clarity.