St. Hyacinthe, Que. — A public information session on the controversial shale-gas industry kicked off in St. Hyacinthe, east of Montreal last night, hours after the provincial environment minister announced stricter enforcement of regulations governing the development of the industry.

Protesters from the environmental group Greenpeace demonstrated outside the entrance to the downtown hotel where the bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement held its first public hearings.

Experts from nine provincial ministries, as well as representatives from Gaz Metro and the Quebec Oil and Gas Association were on hand to answer questions from the public.

Jean-Yves Laliberte of the Ministry of Natural Resources began the meeting by laying out a portrait of the shale gas industry and its expected impact in Quebec.

Based on very preliminary information, the government estimates that there is about 40 billion cubic feet of shale gas in Quebec, which is equal to Quebec’s energy consumption for the next 200 years, said Laliberte, who is the ministry’s exploration co-ordinator. That amount of gas would be worth $200 billion, he added.

Shale gas is a natural gas trapped in shale rock far below the surface of the earth.

Until recently, technology did not exist to extract the gas. Now, using a technique called hydraulic fracturing, oil and gas companies can drill vertically down into the shale rock, and then inject under high pressure a mixture of water, sand and chemicals to create fissures from which the gas can escape.

But shale-gas drilling in other parts of North America has proven controversial, with complaints about drinking and groundwater being contaminated by the chemicals used in drilling as well as by natural gas.

In Quebec, environmental groups have raised red flags about water and air pollution and about the impact shale gas extraction will have on Quebec’s ambitious plans to slash greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020.

Shale-gas drilling is governed by seven different provincial laws, including laws on mines, forests and water quality, Laliberte said.

On Monday, Environment Minister Pierre Arcand announced that he was instituting stricter rules for shale-gas drilling.

Companies that want to move from the exploratory phase to producing shale gas will now need to get a certificate of authorization from the environment ministry, Arcand said.

That will give inspectors from his ministry more power to visit wells and drill sites, he said.

Jean-Yves Lavoie, CEO of Junex, one of the companies that has drilled in Quebec said it is understandable that people have questions and are unsure about shale gas.

“This represents an exceptional development opportunity for Quebec,” Lavoie said. “We believe that exploration and exploitation of this resource can be done safely while respecting the environment.”

The hearings continue Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Public+hearings+start+Quebec+shale+deposits/3623198/story.html#ixzz11Ug1kL8D