Alberta woman seeks $30 million in Canada fracking lawsuit
May 2nd, 2011 Joshua
An Alberta, Canada, woman has filed a $30 million lawsuit against natural gas behemoth EnCana, claiming her water was contaminated by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for natural gas.
In Alberta, natural gas companies have been fracking for the last decade, blasting apart coal formations to extract Coal Bed Methane (CBM).
Jessica Ernst, according to The Tyee in British Columbia, has filed a lawsuit against EnCana, accusing the company of breaking at least 12 laws in its pursuit of methane and natural gas in Canada.
In her lawsuit, she claims she can light her tap water on fire since fracking started near her home. Before then, she said water ran clearly through coal formations into her well.
Ernst believes EnCana’s fracking contaminated a local aquifer with the chemicals it uses in the fracking process.
Like in the U.S., natural gas companies are exempt from disclosing the contents of fracking fluids, which numerous reports have shown to contain dozens of known toxins.
Ernst has been forced to truck in her own fresh water because of excess amounts of methane in her water.
Further in her claim, Ernst accuses Alberta regulators with “watching EnCana contaminate an aquifer” and that the oversight agency did not complete an investigation and report into contamination done by EnCana.
