Cumberland County community blindsided by ‘frac’ and ‘slurry dump site’ markings

HASTINGS, N.S. — William LeBlanc was heading out of his driveway on Travis Road in Cumberland County on Saturday when he saw an orange stake hammered into the ground.

It read “Frac Drill Site.”

“Surprised? Yes, I was surprised,” said LeBlanc.

“It wasn’t there Friday and I saw it Saturday.”

He soon noticed the orange-painted wooden stakes all along Travis, Hastings and Hastings Branch roads. 

Written on them are the directions, including:  “Slurry Dump Site,” “Access to Frac Drill Site 2&3,” “BDY Haliburton Slurry Dump Site,” “Haliburton Drill Shot 2,” “Haliburton Site Office & Laydown” and “FRAC PERMET # NSNR 023-1737.”

The whole community spent the long weekend trying to figure out what the signs are about.

In response to a question from The Chronicle Herald, Department of Natural Resources and Renewables spokeswoman Patricia Jreige said on Tuesday that there are no permits for oil and gas exploration in the area and that whatever “PERMET # NSNR 023-1737” means, it didn’t come from them.

“Our staff have looked into this, and have confirmed that there are no active petroleum rights or permits for activity in this area,” said Jreige.

“The prohibition on fracking in shale remains in place. You could ask the company about their activities.”

Haliburton is a company specializing in oil and gas exploration that in 2019 built a facility in Hants County for holding explosives used in that work. The company had not responded to a Chronicle Herald request by 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

A letter penned by Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton that was provided to The Chronicle Herald shows the flurry of activity the signs have caused.
“I was certainly shocked to hear about this on Sunday evening and went to the area on Monday to look at what was taking place,” reads the letter from Rushton to a concerned area resident.

“On Sunday evening I also reached out to my department staff at Natural Resources and Renewables to see what they may be aware of. They have also been on site the last couple days. They have investigated this and have confirmed with me that there are no active petroleum rights or permits for activity in this area.  The prohibition on fracking shale remains in place. Staff are still working on this file to get to the bottom of it.”

The Municipality of the District of Cumberland County also hasn’t heard what the stakes are for.

“I’ve had lots of phone calls about it this weekend, lots of pictures, lots of questions and I’m trying to find out what’s going on,” said Rod Gilroy, Cumberland councillor for District 2, which includes the community of Hastings, on Tuesday morning.

Cumberland council had at that point already reached out to DNR and was also awaiting an answer as to what was going on.

“It does seem weird that they would all just show up on the weekend,” said Gilroy.

LeBlanc admitted a similar thought.

“Not one person on this road saw them being put up,” said LeBlanc.

“That’s a lot of work for someone pulling a prank.”