Fracking Will Be Allowed Under National Parks in UK

Fracking Companies Will Be Allowed to Drill horizontally Under National Parks and Other Protected Areas if the Wells Start Just Outside Their Boundaries, After the Government Rowed Back on its Earlier Acceptance of New Environmental Protections

Ministers were forced to accept a series of new regulations from Labour on 26 Januaryafter facing defeat by concerned backbenchers, but the final amendments passed by MPs on Monday unpicked many of them. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas accusing ministers of "doing the dirty work of fracking companies for them", but the government move will be welcomed by the nascent shale gas industry.

The Labour amendments had ruled out fracking for shale gas in national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs), sites of special scientific interest and groundwater source protection zones (SPZs). A Guardian analysis revealed that this measure ruled out 40% of the large area of England being offered by the government for shale gas exploration.

But energy and climate change minister Amber Rudd told MPs on Wednesday: "In the case of AONBs and national parks, given their size and dispersion, it might not be practical to guarantee that fracking will not take place under them in all cases without unduly constraining the industry."

Rudd also refused to define the meaning of "protected areas", potentially leaving most groundwater SPZs without any protection at all. "We must not rush this now, because we would risk putting in place restrictions in areas in a way that does not achieve the intended aim of the condition, or that goes beyond it and needlessly damages the potential development of the shale industry."

David Cameron has said the government is "going all out" for shale gas in the UK, claiming it would create thousands of jobs and cut reliance on imports. But opponents argue that high-pressure fracturing of rocks to release gas risks health and environmental impacts and will undermine the country's climate change goals.

Source: Edie

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• Environment
• Fracking
• Governance & Planning