Skip to content

Fracking committee requests extension

The committee has been charged with reviewing the risks and benefits of allowing hydraulic fracturing in the territory and making recommendations to the assembly.
frackingcommittee

The Yukon Legislative Assembly’s fracking committee has asked for another extension.

The committee has been charged with reviewing the risks and benefits of allowing hydraulic fracturing in the territory and making recommendations to the assembly.

Six MLAs sit on the committee, which was established in May of 2013.

Since the members have heard from experts, toured fracking operations in Alberta and visited all of Yukon’s communities to listen to the public.

The government has committed to not permit any fracking in the Yukon until it has received the committee’s recommendations.

EFLO Energy Inc. has publicly stated it hopes to use fracking within the next decade to get at potentially huge natural gas reserves in the Kotaneelee basin, in southeast Yukon.

That company currently has an application in front of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board to get two existing natural gas wells back into production.

EFLO’s near-term plans do not include the use of fracking.

The committee’s original reporting deadline was May of this year, but as that deadline approached the committee asked for an extension to the final day of the fall sitting, which will be Thursday of this week.

Now the committee has asked for another extension, to January 19, 2015.

The assembly will vote on the request this week.

The committee members are Patti McLeod, Lois Moorcroft, Currie Dixon, Darius Elias, Sandy Silver and Jim Tredger.

Contact Jacqueline Ronson at jronson@yukon-news.com