A number of people have contacted me regarding shale gas extraction.
The Government recently announced that anyone with an interest in shale gas extraction can apply for a licence to explore. The maps that have been released (please see the link below) detail the areas in which shale gas could potentially exist, and therefore areas in which firms can apply to explore, which included parts of Broxtowe. This is a long way from permission being granted to actively extract gas.
https://decc-edu.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=29c31fa4b00248418e545d222e57ddaa
I have no objection to shale gas extraction; it is a promising new energy resource which could create thousands of jobs, bring in billions in tax revenues and secure our energy supply for the future. However, let me assure you that I strongly believe that operations should be safe, and must not be at the expense of local communities or the environment. Indeed, I am pleased that wehave set up a £1.2 million support programme to ensure authorities have the resources to make planning decisions in a timely manner and ensure that local communites are fully involved in planning decisions.
Nevertheless, it is important to put into context that these are merely exploratory licenses and we will have to wait and see whether anybody submits an application to explore in Broxtowe.
Be assured there are strong regulations provided in the Infrastructure Act 2015. The Act forbids the Secretary of State from issuing consent for extraction if it would take place within a 'protected groundwater source area'. The regulations clearly set out what is meant by this, and ensure that extraction would be banned at depths of less than 1,200 metres within 50 metres of a point where water used for domestic or food purposes is extracted. Drinking water is not normally found below 400 metres. This limit therefore provides at least 800 metres between the depth of most drinking water sources and the highest possible level at which hydraulic fracturing can take place. The regulations also ban fracking in zones through which groundwater (again used for domestic or food purposes) travels for 50 days before it reaches an abstraction point.
As for national parks and SSIs, the Government has introduced draft regulations to Parliament that define the areas in which fracking will be banned. I can assure you that National Parks will be covered by these protections, and as such, extraction cannot take place at depths of less than 1,200 metres in these areas. Furthermore we have clearly committed to ensuring that extraction cannot be conducted from wells that are drilled at the surface of National Parks, and I am confident that these protections will ensure that the beauty of our National Parks is protected.
The UK has one of the best track records in the world when it comes to protecting our environment as well as developing our industries. I am wholly confident that this experience will be brought to bear on the shale gas protections. The industry will be developed safely with world class environmental protections, creating jobs and delivering better energy security, while all the time safeguarding some of our most precious landscapes.