Today the fracking industry, represented by the UK Onshore Operators Group, and the water industry have announced that they will “work together to help minimise the impact of onshore oil and gas development in the UK on the country’s water resources”.
The deal is welcome recognition from both the shale gas industry and the water industry that the commercial exploitation of shale gas could threaten our water resources, both by placing a further demand on water on water scarce areas and by causing accidental pollution of aquifers and rivers.
It’s clear that many of these risks can be mitigated - but not eliminated – by ensuring the industry follows best practice, but this voluntary deal between the industries is a worrying sign that we will depending on good will rather than regulation to protect the natural environment.
Earlier this year, David Cameron promised that “ there is no reason why the process should cause contamination of water supplies or other environmental damage, if properly regulated....and the regulatory system in this country is one of the most stringent in the world. “
In reality, already the holes in the regulatory system is emerging.
Just this week, for example, MPs debated the lack of clear liability rules and suggested that a requirement for a financial guarantee from operators should be introduced to ensure that the taxpayer does not end out picking up the costs of cleaning up a pollution incident. Whilst earlier his year it emerged that at the Preese Hall fracking site the Environment Agency did not issue environmental permits for the disposal and management of flowback wastewater and only discovered after the site had been fracked that the flowback fluid should be classified as radioactive waste.
If anything today’s deal reinforces the fact that the regulatory regime for shale gas exploitation in this country is not yet fit for purpose. Why else would water companies be seeking extra assurances from the fracking industry?