Jeremy Quin, the MP for Horsham, took the opportunity at the first parliamentary debate on shale gas exploitation to emphasise the critical importance of a safety regime that has the confidence of local communities.
He specifically asked for reassurance that the Department of Energy and Climate Change is taking into account all of the information emerging from the United States in relation to their experience. He asked for reassurance on measures being taken to prevent water contamination and clarity on how the Government will define protected groundwater source areas and how widely or narrowly these will be defined. Finally, he also raised concerns regarding the Environment Agency’s recent consultation on issuing standard permits for exploration.
He said: "At this early stage in unconventional exploration it is incredibly important that local communities have total confidence in the safety and testing regime." Andrea Leadsom, the Minister of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, responded to the debate and it was clear that the Government recognises the importance of securing local support especially following recent setbacks on licence application in Lancashire.
Jeremy Quin commented: "I was pleased that Minister took on board a number of points raised in the debate – there is a lot of momentum towards unconventional drilling but we all need reassurance that everything necessary and more will be done to ensure it can be conducted safely. At local level there is then a further debate that always needs to take place on the suitability of any specific area for drilling and the local environmental and infrastructure impact
To hear Jeremy's speech relating to Shale Gas, please follow the following link to the coverage made by BBC Radio 4's today in Parliament programme on the matter. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/b0608h89