Minister shuts down Cuadrilla's call for weaker earthquake regulations
By Caoimhe Toman
Date: Monday 14 Jan 2019
(Sharecast News) - Energy minister Claire Perry wrote to the fracking firm Cuadrilla's CEO to clarify the regulations on earthquakes would not be weakened after he criticised the government's policies in an interview.
In her letter, Perry backed the traffic-light-system for earthquakes that Cuadrilla's CEO Francis Egan had criticised last November. She said the system was "fit for purpose" and said the government "has no intention of altering it".
The system requires fracking to stop if there are records of any tremor exceeding 0.5ml on the Richter scale.
Egan told the Financial Times that the rules on seismic activities were "strangling" the fracking industry and called for them to be relaxed.
But Perry, in a letter that was published as a result of a Freedom of Information request by the Greenpeace-backed Unearthed website, said Cuadrilla shouldn't have started its fracking if it had concerns over the earthquake regulations
"I note that your Hydraulic Fracture Plan," Perry wrote, "was developed and reviewed over several months with reference to existing regulations, including the traffic light system and at no point did you communicate that it would not be possible to proceed without a change in regulations.
"The UK has world-leading safety and environmental regulations to ensure that shale gas exploration is carried out safely and responsibly. The Government believes the current system is fit for purpose and has no intention of altering it," she added.
Dr Doug Parr, chief scientist for Greenpeace UK, said the government's patience with fracking seemed to be wearing thin.
"It makes no sense for ministers to fritter away more political capital on an industry which has produced no energy whatsoever and looks increasing unlikely ever to do so," he added.
"Despite the Minister's warm words about fracking's potential, the message this letter delivers is that there's a limit to the unpopularity the government is willing to court to sort out Cuadrilla's problems. It's time for ministers to reverse out of this dead end and speed up the clean energy infrastructure programme Britain needs."
Dr Doug Parr, Chief Scientist for Greenpeace UK, said: "After years of bending over backwards to pander to this industry's every wish, the government's patience with fracking seems to be wearing thin. It makes no sense for ministers to fritter away more political capital on an industry which has produced no energy whatsoever and looks increasing unlikely ever to do so.
"Despite the Minister's warm words about fracking's potential, the message this letter delivers is that there's a limit to the unpopularity the government is willing to court to sort out Cuadrilla's problems. It's time for ministers to reverse out of this dead end and speed up the clean energy infrastructure programme Britain needs."
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