Hearings Open in Yarmouth on Jan. 11

The Georges Bank Review public hearings begin at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 11, at the Rodd Grand Hotel, Yarmouth.

The review panel expects to hear more than 80 submissions over the next three weeks in Yarmouth, Shelburne, Lunenburg and Halifax.

Four days have been set aside for the Yarmouth portion of the hearings, concluding on Thursday, Jan. 14. The panel travels to Shelburne for hearings Jan. 18-19, Lunenburg, Jan. 21, and Halifax, Jan. 25-28.

The hearings are the final phase of a public review of the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of oil and gas exploration on Georges Bank, off the southwest coast of Nova Scotia.

In 1988, as a result of federal and provincial legislation, a moratorium was placed on petroleum exploration and drilling on Georges Bank until Jan. 1, 2000. Under the legislation, the review panel is required to make a report and recommendations resulting from public consultations to the provincial and federal ministers responsible for the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord.

The legislation further requires the panel to report the results of its review and make its recommendations by July 1, 1999. The ministers are required to make a decision by Jan. 1, 2000.