Highway 102 down to one lane for Alton Gas protest

A group of people protesting the Alton natural gas storage projectcausedsome traffic delays on Highway 102 nearStewiacke, N.S.,Saturday afternoon.

Demonstrators were handing out information pamphlets about the project to drivers on the southbound lane near Exit 11. They planned to be in the area until 3 p.m.

Theprovince approved an application byAltaGasLtd.to store natural gas in three underground salt caverns in Alton, nearStewiacke, back in January.

• Alton natural gas storage facility gets green light from Nova Scotia

Brine and caverns

Organizers of the protest say the main concern isabout the release of salty water from drilling the underground caverns into theShubenacadieRiver system.

"They can never be filled back in. They're30-storeybuilding sized holes and they want to put up to 18 of them in and so is that going to affect water tables?"said Collin Hawks, who lives 0.3 km from the project.

A 'joint effort'

Hawks said the drilling "affects the property values and people's way of life out there."

He saidresidents as well as people fromthe Ecology Action Centre, the Council of Canadians,Amnesty International andFirst Nations are participating.

"It's a joint effort andsignageshows that," he said.

Police said they wereaware of the demonstration and weremonitoring it.

'Something that can never be repaired'

Hawkssaidthe goal of the demonstration is to make people aware of the project.

"It's something that can never be repaired. At some pointthe project, we believe there will be an issue with it and there's no going back. The government is basically saying we'll mitigate any issues is their response to everything. Well if there's an issue you can't put it back," he said.

"There's no fixing your water table, there's no fixing the river andor the ecosystem affected by brine andor caverns."

Alton responds

Alton Natural Gas Storage L.P. responded to the High 102 demonstration in a press release,sayingit has been meeting with landowners, community members, government and First Nations since 2006.

"It is unfortunate that today's demonstration inconvenienced the travelling public on Highway 102. We prefer to engage with stakeholders in a respectful manner that acknowledges differing opinions but works toward shared solutions," the company said.

The company says itwill continue to engage people aboutthe projecttheysay will help provide NovaScotianswith "affordable, reliable natural gas year round."

Alton also says they're committed to protecting the the Shubenacadie River and the fish and fish habitat that live there.

Further action

The Ecology Action Centre is alsoprotesting the project witha Brine and Cheese Party at the brewery farmers market in Halifax. They'll be dressing up like waiters and handing out samples of cheese while telling people about the project.

Sipekne'katikFirst Nationprotested the project in front of Province Housein April.