FYI Frackers

Fracking will require approval says council

ALEX FENSOME

Any attempts to frack in Southland will need resource consent, the regional council has pledged.
Councillor Robert Guyton said Environment Southland would not follow the same course as Taranaki, where until recently the controversial process did not need consent.
A European Union report into the effects of fracking was given to Environment Southland councillors last week, Mr Guyton said.
"I noticed in Taranaki it is now requiring a consent and I wanted to make sure Environment Southland is further ahead of the game on that. The staff did some great work finding out about it."
The report, compiled by the EU's policy department, investigated the human health and environmental impacts of fracking.
It noted the unavoidable impacts include "area consumption" for drilling pads, parking and turning areas for trucks, gas processing and transport facilities.
Possible environmental impacts, based on a study of cases in the United States, include groundwater contamination due to blowouts, spills or leaks, the report said.
"In extreme cases leading to explosion of residential buildings ... leading to salinisation of drinking water is reported in the vicinity of wells."
It recommended the EU came up with regulations governing fracking to ensure the environmental impact is monitored.
Acting Energy Minister Hekia Parata had previously said fracking was covered under the Resource Management Act and New Zealand's regulations are based on international best practice.
"There are some flaws in the report and it focuses on a different part of the world," Mr Guyton said. "But in general it's good to get some facts and getting hydrocarbons is going to become very pressing – we as a community need to be well schooled."
Councillors decided any Southland fracking operation would require a consent.
The Taranaki Regional Council's resource management director, Fred McLay, said fracking had been used in its oil and gas industry for years, but only recently became an issue.
Taranaki fracking had taken place kilometres under ground, and the council assessed there was little threat to aquifiers due to its depth, so did not require a consent.
"We thought the activity was pretty minor and we still think that," Mr McLay said. But in the past six months the council had changed its practice and now required resource consent.
The council had not made a mistake in handling fracking, he said.
WHAT IS FRACKING?
A widely used practice in the oil and gas industry, fracking involves the injection of millions of litres of water and chemicals into a coal seam or oil reservoir.
Subjected to huge amounts of hydraulic pressure, the fracking fluids force the gas or oil bearing rocks to break apart and release their bounty back up the well to the surface.
It can be used to both improve the flow of oil wells and extract gas trapped in rock seams.There have been concerns it risks contamination of groundwater by fracking fluid leaking into aquifiers.
It has brought widespread protests in the United States.A protest group,
Climate Justice Taranaki, began protesting against its use in the North Island.Fracking could take place in Western Southland to access potential coal seam and shale gas resources.