Leaking fracking waste still worries Kennetcook crowd

Concerns about what's left of Nova Scotia's one and only fracking operation drew close to 100 people to a meeting in Kennetcook Wednesday night as residents voiced their unease about leaking waste water.

The area is home to two holding ponds containing 20 million litres of fracking waste water.Earlier this winter some escaped when rain and snow caused the pond to overflow.

Resident Nancy Beck said she has a general distrust for how the entire process has been handled.

"Things were happening all along that were wrong there. Let's not let that happen again, she told the crowd.

Environment Minister Randy Delorey said between 6,000 and 14,000 litres of fracking waste escaped from the pond, some of it running into a nearby brook.

He said there are a number of possible methods to clean it up, but there still isn't a simple solution to remedy the situation.

The spill is under investigation and TrianglePetroleumCorporation,the company that did the original drilling, could be fined.

"The way the government is going about this is still kind of hit and miss, said Ken Somers who lives in nearby Somerville.

You know, like, 'Oh we'll wait and see what companies propose and Maybe this will work or maybe that won't work. It's just sort of an endless circling process.

Dead animals have been found near the pond. The environment minister said that information has been turned over to the NovaScotiaDepartment of Natural Resources.

There are an estimated 27 million litres offrackingwaste water in NovaScotia.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves blasting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into a well bore to split the surrounding rock and release trapped hydrocarbons, usually natural gas, coal bed methane or crude oil.

The Nova Scotia government implemented a two-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in 2012.