Province Urged To Halt Oil Sands Exploration
Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 16:27
An environmental watchdog is calling for a review on oil sands exploration work being done in the province’s northwest.
Ann Coxworth, a program coordinator for the Saskatchewan Environmental Society, says not enough is known about how the search for oil north of the Clearwater River is impacting the wilderness.
Coxworth says the main problem is the number of trails and roads that are being built through untouched land.
She knows an environmental assessment will happen before any “commercial” development of the region occurs — but Coxworth insists studies need to happen now, because she feels the impact of the exploration is significant.
She says her group has asked Oilsands Quest to provide them with company data about the effects of the exploratory work but have been refused.
Coxworth has since written a letter to Environment Minister Nancy Heppner asking that an immediate review of the exploration work be launched.