Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria are used to determine the different categories of groundwater risk; and how the risks posed to groundwater by hydraulic fracturing sites are determined.
The Environment Agency has a duty to protect all groundwater, regardless of its quality. Its priority is to protect water supplies intended for human consumption as well as ensure protection of groundwater that supplies dependent ecosystems. The Environment Agency will undertake a site based hydrogeological risk assessment for any proposed shale gas site and will object (through planning or our permitting controls) to any activities that they consider pose a risk to groundwater.
Hydraulic fracturing is not permitted in Source Protection Zone 1, and the Environment Agency will not permit the use of hazardous substances as described in Schedule 22 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 for any activity, including hydraulic fracturing where they would or might enter groundwater and cause pollution.