Habitat on CKDU

This week on Habitat: What's happening to millions of litres of polluted fracking wastewater in Nova Scotia?  Ecology Action Centre Geoscience Coordinator Jennifer West tells the story. And then a conversation about building a sustainable economy for the Eastern Shore with resident Marike Finlay, who recently submitted a proposal to the Ivany Commission on Economic Development.

There's millions of litres of fracking wastewater in Nova Scotia, and we're trying to figure out what will happen to it.  Fracking fluid has many added chemicals, and also acquires things through the process of fracking, such as Naturally Occuring Radioactive Materials and high concentrations of salt.  Some of the fluid has already been released into the Windsor sewage treatment plant, and  3.5 million litres have gone untracked by Triangle Petroleum or the provincial government.  Colchester County is currently planning to accept the rest into its municipal sewage treatment system, but the Ecology Action Centre, along with other organizations, are appealing this decision based on the concern that sewage treatment systems are not equipped to treat fracking wastewater.
http://nofrac.wordpress.com/
CBC's fracking FAQ

Part 2:  Where do little dogs eat? (starts approx. 19:30)
Marike Finlay was part of a group who successfully opposed a proposed open fin aquaculture site in Shoal Bay on the Eastern Shore. This time I spoke to Finlay about her recent submission to the Ivany Commission on Economic Development.  Authored along with family members Karin Cope and Elisabeth Bigras, Finlay's proposal calls for a change of attitude on the eastern shore, abandoning reliance on large 'magic bullet' industries, and instead focussing on small scale, sustainable development.  
http://onens.ca/the-commission/

Another section of track in Canada's once extensive rail network is in danger of being ripped up.  The Windsor Hantsport Railway had been leasing a section of track from Windsor to Windsor Junction, but the lease expired at the end of 2012 and the owners have been unable to reach a deal with CN to purchase the track.  

 

CN in turn has put the track up for sale, but if noone buys it by Monday April 8, the tracks can then be torn up and the land sold separately.  It's thought that Hants County and HRM will purchase the land for trails.

The Windsor Hantsport Railway has applied for a low interest load from Nova Scotia Economic and Rural Development and has filed a notice of intent with CN to purchase the track.

I spoke with Matt Keoughan, a railway enthusiast who's been closely following the story of the Windsor Branch line.

Ecology Action Centre call for letters of support

What’s the Big Deal with Microplastics?, from SmallScales.ca

Road widening costs are "all in the tens and tens of millions, so why wouldn't we look at ten or twenty million for rail? I think it's one of the cheaper options out there." - HRM Councillor Barry Dalrymple

Halifax city council has set aside $250,000 to study the possibility of a commuter rail line from Enfield to Halifax's south end train station, but the study requires cooperation from CN Rail, the private company that owns the tracks.  And currently CN is refusing to participate pending an unrelated legal action they have with the city.  The tracks in question run from Enfield through Fall River, Bedford, Sackville, Rockingham and into downtown. 

I spoke with Councillor Barry Dalrymple about the possibility of Metro Transit commuter rail running on CN tracks. 

For the next two months, seven metro bus lines will carry a message from residents of the Eastern Shore that says “Save Our Coastal Waters and Economy.  Tell Premier Dexter to Stop Open Pen Fish Farming.” 

Marike Finlay is president of the Association for the Preservation of the Eastern Shore,  I called her up to ask about the campaign and her concerns about fish farming off Nova Scotia's coastline.  

Links:
Website for Salmon Wars, the movie
Association for Preservation of the Eastern Shore

NS is home to over 2 million mink on farms that are polluting rivers and lakes.  The provincial government has just passed new regulations to help solve the problem, but according to Gretchen Fitzgerald at Sierra Club Atlantic, the new laws do little to nothing to stop the pollution. 
The Sierra Club, along with Ecology Action Centre, East Coast Environmental Law Association, Tri-County Watershed Protection Association, and David Suzuki Foundation issued a press release outlining major problems with the new regulations, including the ability to waive the enforcement of the regulations at the bureaucratic level.

Inka Milewski is a New Brunswick marine biologist who is supporting the Salmon Feedlot Boycott. (http://salmonfeedlotboycott.com)  

Inka is currently studying the effects of open net pen farming on a site near Sandy Point in Shelburne Harbour.  The site has sulphur levels 10 times the amount that should have triggered regulatory intervention.  Inka has also found high levels of copper and bubbling methane gas in the seabed under the former farm site.

Find out more at http://salmonfeedlotboycott.com/

Anissa Reed is a former ocean diver and aquaculture worker, now an organizer with the Salmon Feedlot Boycott. She's spoken to concerned fishermen and community members from both coasts about the effects of aquaculture farms on their coastal environments. 

Find out more at http://salmonfeedlotboycott.com/

Bill Taylor, Atlantic Salmon Federation, talks about effects on wild salmon population with Anissa Reed and Alexandra Morton.