Infrastructure Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2015-02-09
Topic: Energy
Sandip Verma (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I shall speak also to the other amendments in this group There is a clear and pressing need to ensure that this legislation is absolutely right. Shale gas is an exciting new energy resource for the UK, with the potential to provide greater energy security, growth and jobs, alongside playing an important role in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Unlocking the shale industry is too big an opportunity to pass up. We all agree that it must be done safely and sustainably, but we cannot throw away the opportunity to create thousands of jobs and economic growth for communities across Britain The Government’s position comes from careful consultation of relevant experts and draws on many authoritative reports from the US. More specifically, it is based on reports by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Public Health England, which have considered a wide range of evidence and looked at the UK regulatory system. Their advice has outlined the risks and concluded: "The health, safety and environmental risks associated with hydraulic fracturing … as a means to extract shale gas can be managed effectively in the UK as long as operational best practices are implemented and enforced" Following exhaustive discussions in this House and the other place, we have been considering the implementation and enforcement of operational best practices in the UK, which is why we accepted Amendment 21 during Report stage in the other place. We did so in order to show our acceptance of the intent of the 13 policy elements it sets out, but noble Lords—in particular, those with a legal background—will appreciate that, as currently drafted, the amendment cannot be included in the Bill. Although the courts would attempt to interpret the provisions, Amendment 21 is not viable as law and simply would not work in practice. Amendment 21 as currently drafted would have been wrong to accept, so we have been working hard to ensure that its spirit is maintained The government amendments in lieu are designed to ensure that the regulations we seek to introduce deliver the intended outcomes and support the growth of the shale industry while reassuring local communities that this will be done in a safe and responsible manner. They also ensure clarity for all interested parties by proposing clauses that are capable of being interpreted and enforceable Regarding the scope of our amendments, they will apply to hydraulic fracturing, which will be defined in UK law. Geothermal operations will be excluded, as the amendments are being taken forward through the petroleum licence, for which there is no geothermal equivalent. Conventional oil and gas well stimulation techniques will also be excluded—something that noble Lords will agree makes perfect sense, as these have been used for decades onshore The territorial extent of the amendments will be limited to England and Wales. In other words, Scotland will be excluded from the requirements of the new commitments. Noble Lords will be aware that, as a result of the Smith commission’s recommendations and the Command Paper published, it is planned that in the next Parliament responsibility for mineral access rights for underground onshore extraction of oil and gas will be devolved to the Scottish Parliament I now turn to the commitments themselves. First, our amendments mean that the Secretary of State will not issue a well consent, something that is required by an onshore licence for England or Wales, unless it prohibits associated hydraulic fracturing from taking place in land at a depth of less than 1,000 metres. The right-of-use provisions will be left unchanged at 300 metres. In land at a depth of 1,000 metres or more, hydraulic fracturing will not take place if the licensee does not have the Secretary of State’s consent for it to take place—something I will henceforth refer to as a hydraulic fracturing consent. For the hydraulic fracturing consent to be issued, an application for it has to be made by, or on behalf of, the licensee. Where an application is made, the Secretary of State will only grant consent if he is satisfied that a number of conditions have been met Some of these conditions relate to the planning systems in England and Wales. In particular, the Secretary of State will need to be satisfied that the environmental impact of the development has been taken into account by the relevant planning authority. He will also need to be satisfied that the relevant planning authority has taken into account, where material, the cumulative impact of the development proposed and any other development involving hydraulic fracturing to obtain oil or gas. He must be satisfied that the relevant planning authority has considered whether to impose a restoration condition in relation to the development and that the relevant water companies have been consulted before any planning permission is granted Similarly, a well cannot be drilled, and associated hydraulic fracturing cannot take place, within protected areas. The precise definition of protected areas will be decided at a later stage, as our clauses put a duty on the Secretary of State to bring forward secondary legislation to be laid before and approved by a resolution of both this House and the other place no later than the end of July this year. We must be very careful not to put in place restrictions in areas that do not achieve the intended aim of the condition or that go beyond it and needlessly damage the potential development of the shale industry. In order to satisfy himself that the conditions relating to planning have been met, the Secretary of State may rely on notices given by the local planning authority. A notice, which, in practice, means specifically that the process of an environmental impact assessment has to have been carried out, would be sufficient to satisfy the Secretary of State that the environmental impact had been taken into account Similarly, notices from the relevant local planning authority confirming that the cumulative effects of permitted developments have been taken into account where material, that it has considered whether to impose a restoration condition, and that local water companies have been consulted before a decision to grant the relevant planning permission is taken, would allow the Secretary of State to be satisfied that the relevant conditions have been met. It would also be sufficient to receive a notice indicating that the area in respect of which the planning permission has been granted does not include any land which is within protected areas, once these have been clearly defined. I note that the absence of these documents does not necessarily prevent the Secretary of State satisfying himself that the conditions have been met. This is to ensure that if, for example, the kind of notice listed is not available, the Secretary of State could grant hydraulic fracturing consent provided he is satisfied that the conditions listed in the clause have been met. I should stress that it is not possible for the Secretary of State to grant hydraulic fracturing consent if these conditions have not been met Other conditions that would need to be met concern the environmental permitting regimes in England and Wales. Consent will not be granted unless the level of methane in groundwater has been monitored 12 months before hydraulic fracturing begins. Arrangements have also to be made for monitoring emissions of methane into the air for the period of the environmental permit, and for the monitoring results to be published. The substances used, or expected to be used, in associated hydraulic fracturing have to be approved by the relevant environmental regulator.