Tighter fracking rules not needed, says EA chair

The tighter rules on fracking that have been added to the Infrastructure Bill are not needed to protect the water sources and the environment, according to the chair of the Environment Agency (EA).

Giving evidence to the Environment, Food, and rural Affairs (Efra) committee yesterday, Sir Philip Dilley said that under the existing regime, the risks “are relatively easily mitigated or avoided by doing things competently”.

Dilley told the committee: “We would not ask for any further legislation to be confident these activities can be done properly and safeguard the community and safeguard the environment.”

He added that the three main risks faced during the fracking process are the chemicals contained in the drilling fluid, some potentially naturally occurring radioactive waste, and the flaring of gas.

The EA chair stated that there is a list of what chemicals are banned from being used in drilling fluids, which is “more stringent that in the US” – which prevents aquifer pollution because of these chemicals becoming an issue.

In terms of the waste, he added that there is already “strong legislation in place and we are comfortable that can be handled properly”, and that flaring of gas is banned except in limited circumstances during the exploration phase.

The EA chief executive, Paul Leinster, who was also giving evidence to the committee, added that, should the shale gas industry develop significantly in the UK, the EA would be able to “ramp up” to cope with the increased pressures and demand.

He said the EA would recover the money needed to fund increased staff and operations via permit application charges and that “if we get the level of the charges right that will fund the right level of resources we will need.”