Fracking: Earthquakes

(asked on 1st May 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations his Department has received from (a) fracking companies, (b) environmental groups and (c) the shale gas commissioner on the appropriateness of current guidelines on tremors caused by fracking.


Answered by
Kelly Tolhurst Portrait
Kelly Tolhurst
This question was answered on 13th May 2019

The Department routinely receives correspondence from a wide range of stakeholders in relation to the regulatory regime for shale gas extraction, including the traffic light system.

The Traffic Light System for monitoring induced seismicity was introduced after consideration of advice from scientists, following operations at Cuadrilla’s Preese Hall site in 2011. The level of magnitude 0.5 at which operators must pause operations, was set in consultation with industry as an appropriate precautionary measure. These regulations have been working as intended and there are no plans to review the traffic light system.

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