Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) continuous and (b) baseline monitoring arrangements are in place for fugitive emissions for hydraulic fracturing; and which body conducts that monitoring.

All oil and gas exploratory sites need permits under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (EPRs).

As part of the application process for an environmental permit operators must provide a site condition report detailing the condition of the site prior to the commencement of any operations. This will include the condition of air, surface and groundwater quality, and the prevailing soil quality. It will provide the baseline data that will be used to determine if there has been any deterioration in the land when an operator applies to the Environment Agency to surrender the permit. The Environment Agency will assess this data against its environmental databases and those of others, such as the survey recently conducted by the British Geological Survey to establish baseline levels of methane in groundwater.

It is the operator's responsibility to comply with the conditions of the permit, including any specified monitoring conditions. The permit will specify the type, frequency and determinants to be monitored throughout the operational life of the site. The Environment Agency may undertake spot checks and carry out additional monitoring.