Berkley pre-hearing for Dec 5The EUB held 2 information sessions in Crossfield on Oct 22 and 24 to inform residents about the hearing process.
https://www.crossfieldalberta.com/pdf/NoticeofInfoSessions.pdf
The pre-hearing has been set for Dec 5 2007.
(Do a google search on Berkley resources Crossfield - the EUB link to the pre-hearing information is the third link down - the link is too long to reproduce here)
The information sessions were well attended by rural residents and residents from the town of Crossfield. This confirms there is continued strong opposition to this proposal.
The pre-hearing is a part of the normal process that occurs when companies are not able to satisfy objections of residents who will be adversely affected by the proposal. Generally the following things will take place:
1) Intervener objections will be reviewed – and there are lots of these
2) Interveners will be given standing if they are within 7.7 km of the proposed well site – this includes the entire town of Crossfield and a large rural population
3) Intervener funding (legal costs and funding for expert witnesses) will be estimated
4) Berkleys finances may be assessed to determine if they can pay for these costs and still have enough money to safely continue with the project.
5) Dates will be set for the hearing. This will likely not be until February or later because the intervener experts will have to be hired and have time to look for short-comings in Berkely’s application.
The Pre-Hearing is a normal part of the application process for applications that have outstanding objections. It is not good news for Berkley – it means they are not able to proceed with the proposal without going through a long, expensive and uncertain hearing process.